The Wedding Breaker
by GiraffeShelf
Summary: When Tai announced his engagement, Sora accepted to be the maid of honour. However, she only had one thing in mind: break up his wedding.
1. Tabloids

Hey everyone, this is my first attempt at fanfiction so please don't flame me if it's not very good! I was watching _My Best Friend's Wedding_ and decided to do my own take on it with everyone's favourite Digimon pairing: the one and only Taiora of course. Without further ado, please read and review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon bla bla.

_The Wedding Breaker_

When Tai announced his engagement, Sora accepted to be the maid of honour. However, she only had one thing in mind: break up his wedding.

_Chapter 1 – Tabloids_

At the young age of 25, most people would think that Sora Takenouchi has it all: beauty, fame, fortune and endless gorgeous pursuers. Dubbed by the tabloids as the 'Fashion Prodigy of the Rising Sun', every girl wants to be her and every guy wants to nail her.

When Sora first stepped into the fashion industry, everyone in her entourage frowned upon her career choice. The sporty tomboy designing girly dresses? The idea sounded as absurd as when Matt announced that he was abandoning his music for astronomy. Yet somehow, in an inexplicable and spontaneous way, Sora decided to let her newfound artistic side kick in. That was one of the best decisions she has ever made, as she turned out to be one hell of a designer.

Standing at a newsstand with a baseball cap tugged down low on her brow and oversized shades snug to the bridge of her nose, the auburn-haired designer discreetly scanned through racks and racks of magazine covers. It was like looking at a hall of mirrors with different pictures of herself staring back at her. Images of herself posing as a professional entrepreneur, as the girl next door, as a sexy bombshell… her success story was featured on almost every tabloids.

Her attention was suddenly caught by the cover of one magazine in particular. She picked it up and saw a reflection of an attractive brunette young man embracing a beautiful girl. As she read the headline, her jaw dropped slightly.

"_Soccer superstar Taichi Kamiya engaged to model Sumiko!"_

'This has got to be some unreliable gossip that the editors made up to pick up their sales,' thought the young woman shaking her head. Sure Tai had been going out with this model of his for a few months now, but as far as she was concerned, Tai never mentioned anything about taking their relationship to the next level. Besides, the fact that Tai had a different bimbo every other month didn't help with the credibility of this headline either.

"Miss are you buying anything? You've been standing there reading for quite some time now," asked the salesman in an annoyed tone.

Unimpressed by his rudeness, Sora tossed him a few bills and shoved the magazine in her bag. 'Wait until Tai hears about this,' she thought to herself.

* * *

><p>Exhausted after a long day at work, Sora stepped into her luxurious penthouse and lazily dumped the mail which she collected on the living room counter, promising herself to go through them the next day. She then noticed the red light flashing on her phone, notifying new messages in her voicemail. She pressed the 'play' button and slumped heavily on her leather sofa.<p>

"_Honey, when are you coming to visit? You hardly drop by the flower shop anymore now that you're some big shot. Anyway honey, give your mother a call sometime. End of message 1." _

'I should probably call her later tonight,' thought Sora feeling slightly guilty. As the end of the month, her work agenda has been overloaded with deadlines to meet and hence, endless overtime.

"_Hi Ms. Takenouchi, I'm calling from Dr. Fujiwara's office to confirm your dentist appointment this Thursday at 4:00 p.m. Thank you and have a pleasant day. End of message 2."_

Crap, crap, crap. She completely forgot that she scheduled the monthly board meeting at the exact same time slot. Oh well, that leaves her no choice but to call Dr. Fujiwara to delay her appointment _again_.

"_Hey Sor, it's Tai! How's it going? It's been a while that we haven't caught up with each other. Listen, can you call me back when you'll have time? It's kinda important. Miss you and talk to you soon. End of Message 3."_

Tai? He hasn't called in ages. In fact, the frequency of their meetings significant decreased ever since he has been appointed as a striker on the Japan national soccer team. While her bushy-haired best friend has been travelling around the globe to compete in tournaments, she remained in Tokyo buried in her work.

Even though she should probably call her mother first, Sora picked up her phone and started dialling Tai's number. Curiosity kills the cat.

"Hello, Tai speaking," muttered a cheerful voice on the other end of the receiver.

"Hey Tai it's me."

"Sora! How's my Fashion Queen doing? I've been trying to reach you all day! Every time I called your cellphone it just sent me straight to your voicemail."

"Sorry I've been kinda busy, and please don't call me by that tacky nickname."

"Why, I happen to find it very amusing! Sometimes I still can't get over that my tomboy best friend is now competing with the likes of Alexander McQueen and Marc Jacobs," snickered Tai.

"I'm shocked that you know brands other than Adidas and Nike!"

"Always the tone of surprise. Don't forget that Susu is in the fashion industry too so naturally I hear all this from her!"

_Susu. _After all these months, Sora still flinched at Tai's affectionate nickname for his girlfriend.

"Right I forgot, my bad. Anyway, you won't believe what I read on JStar Magazine today! They wrote that you're getting married to Sumiko, ha! I had a good laugh!"

"… actually that's what I wanted to talk to you about…"

"The press is getting more and more outrageous every day, I mean who will believe that womanizer Tai Kamiya is settling down? The shit they make up these days just to boost up their sales – "

"Sora I'm getting married."

"It's ridiculous right? Wait… what did you just say?"

For a few seconds Sora just simply stood there frozen in disbelief. She didn't even realize that she dropped the receiver.

"Sora are you okay? What was that loud thud I just heard?" exclaimed the voice on the other end.

"Oh er it was nothing… some bird just flew by and slammed right into my window…" _'Gosh my excuse can't get any lamer,'_ she thought to herself.

"Ok wow the bird must have hit it really hard judging by the crashing sound, for a second I thought you fainted there!"

"Ah haha," she chuckled nervously.

"Anyway, back to the main topic. The press is right for once, I'm engaged Sor. Sumiko and I are getting married in a month, and we want you to be the maid of honour."

Sora's voice failed her as her brain tried to comprehend his words.

"Sor? Are you still there?"

Giving herself a mental slap, she quickly recomposed herself.

"Yeah it's just that… it took me by surprise that's all… a month is right around the corner… Tai I don't want to sound judgemental, but are you sure about this?"

"My family had the same reaction too when I told them. I know this seems impulsive, but somehow it just feels right to be with Susu."

She couldn't help but feel a slight tug at her heart.

"Whatever makes you happy. How did the tabloids find out about this anyway?" she asked trying to push away her unhappy thoughts.

"Argh it must have been one of the waitresses who spilled the beans… I popped the question yesterday night when we were at a restaurant. I specifically reserved all the tables so there would be no interruption. So are you gonna be the maid of honour or not?"

"Is Sumiko okay with this? Doesn't she want to choose the maid of honour herself? I'm not exactly her closest friend you know."

"It was her idea actually, she said she wants to get to know my best friend since I talk about you so much. Besides, even if she did pick someone else I would make you my best man anyway."

She smiled at his comment.

"I'm really flattered that she chose me but my agenda is incredibly overloaded these days, I don't think I'll have time to do all the duties expected of the maid."

"Then just take a few weeks off and delegate your responsibilities to someone else temporarily."

"Yeah but – "

"Pleaseeee? It would really mean a lot to me to have my best friend by my side on my big day."

The young woman sighed. She hated when he begged. She could never resist him then.

"Alright, I guess I can take some time off."

"Really? So you'll be the maid of honour?"

"I can't really say no can I?"

"I knew you always had a soft spot for me! Anyway, I should probably let you get some rest, it's 11:00 p.m. after all. I'll call you tomorrow. I miss you."

"Miss you too."

After they hung up, Sora just sat in the living room contemplating what she has gotten herself into.

* * *

><p>"HE'S GETTING WHAT?" yelled Mimi, Sora's other best friend, earning her several angry stares from customers in the coffee shop.<p>

"I know, I was shocked myself when he told me. At first I thought he was being sarcastic after I told him about the article in JStar." Sora said as she retrieved the magazine from her Michael Kors tote bag.

Mimi grabbed it and skimmed through the article. "Dang, I can see why Tai is so head over heels for this Sumiko girl, she sure is hot!" exclaimed Mimi as she saw a picture of the model at a Victoria's Secret runway.

"Urgh, this still doesn't justify their speedy engagement. I mean, they've been dating for like what, three days? Guys can be so superficial," the designer spat sourly as she stirred her cappuccino.

Hearing the bitter tone in her best friend's voice, Mimi looked up from the magazine and watched Sora bemusedly. "Sounds like someone's a little jealous."

"Am not," Sora denied. Was she? Although she didn't want to admit it, she couldn't help but feel a surge of disappointment and melancholy upon hearing the engagement.

"You don't have to lie to me, I've known you for so long that I can read you like an open book. Now tell me honestly, do you still have feelings for Tai?"

"Why ask when you already know the answer?"

"So I can get you to admit your feelings to yourself. I can't let my best friend's happiness go down the drain without intervening. You know Sora, sometimes taking chances is a good thing. Talk to him before it's too late."

'_It's already too late, he's getting married in a month for crying out loud!'_ The auburn haired girl shifted her gaze thoughtfully to the window and silently sipped her coffee.

* * *

><p>Sora rolled and stirred in bed that night. She took a glance at the alarm clock on her night table. 2:36. <em>'What can't I stop thinking about it,'<em> she groaned in frustration.

For the past few hours she had been keeping her eyes shut begging for Mr. Sandman to bring her a dream, yet her mind would relentlessly wander off to memories of a certain bushy haired someone. Finally, she gave up on trying to fall asleep and switched on her plasma TV.

She flicked through the channels settled on the movie network. Julia Roberts' _My Best Friend's Wedding_ was playing. As the movie progressed, Sora couldn't help but think that the plot sounded awfully familiar. As the scenes continued to unravel, realization finally hit her. '_Oh my gosh I'm Julianne! I'm the desperate best friend!'_

She couldn't believe it. She always thought that romantic comedies had the most unlikely and cliché plots, yet here she was, sitting on her bed at three o'clock in the morning relating herself to Julia Roberts.

"_This is my only chance at happiness. I have to be ruthless,"_ exclaimed Julianne passionately on TV, which only caused Sora to snort in return. _'Get a grip woman,'_ she thought mockingly.

Regardless of Julianne's pathetic attempts at ruining Michael's wedding, Sora kept on watching, wondering if there will be a happy end to all this nonsense. To her dismay… there wasn't. Suddenly, Mimi's advice sounded as grim as ever.


	2. Enchanté

A/N: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews everyone! They're really encouraging and motivated me to write a little faster. readerchick6, thanks for the song, it gave me some ideas and maybe I'll use it in the story ;) kyoshira7, I like that movie too! Too bad Sumiko won't nearly be as nice as Colin!

_Chapter 2 – Enchanté_

Sora looked in her full-length mirror and studied her outfit. Her black skinny pants nicely showed off her long legs, matched with a cream color ruffled blouse and elegant stilettos. Stylish yet not too extravagant. She wanted to look presentable next to a supermodel after all. She threw a final glance at her reflection, grabbed her oversized clutch and headed for the door.

Upon entering Shogun, a reputable Teppanyaki restaurant in Tokyo, Sora was quickly greeted by the cheerful host.

"Good evening, how may I help you miss?"

"Hi, I'm here for a reservation under the name Kamiya."

"Ah, of course, come this way please," he motioned for her to follow. As the host led her through several tables with flat surface grills, her best friend's handsome face came into view.

"Sora! I'm so glad you made it!" Tai stretched out his arms and enveloped her in a tight hug.

"Hmph… can't breathe!" She laughed under his crushing embrace. As he finally released his hold, the designer's eyes settled on the girl next standing next to him.

_Sumiko._

Wearing a simple lilac sundress, she had straight silky black hair cascading past her shoulders and big almond shaped emerald eyes. Her smooth skin did not did not show a single speckle of blemish. All in all, she looked flawless.

Upon seeing Sora, Sumiko smiled, displaying her perfectly aligned gleaming white teeth, and extended her manicured hand. "You must be Sora, I've heard so much about you. Enchanté!"

"It means 'nice to meet you' in French, Susu's taking French lessons and is taking every opportunity to show off," teased Tai.

"Oh, that's wonderful. It's nice to meet you too," replied the redhead shaking her hand.

"Now that you two have met, let's order! Boy am I hungry just by watching the other chefs cook," urged Tai as he observed a teppanyaki chef grilling marinated steak at the next table.

As if he overheard Tai, a waiter almost instantly showed up at their table. "Good evening, are we ready to order?"

"Hi, yes we are, we're starving! I'm gonna have the teriyaki chicken, the lady sitting next to me will take the sukiyaki steak and as for the young woman in front of me, she'll have – "

"Hibachi shrimps," Tai and Sora both said in unison. "I see you still remember my favourites," the redhead beamed at him. "And he'll have a carafe of Sake," she added.

"Nah, I'm toning down on the alcohol, gotta start watching my line you know."

Sora quirked an eyebrow at his comment. "Please, you don't have a single ounce of fat on you! Get him the Sake, he can handle it."

The waiter quickly jogged everything down. "Perfect. And how are we splitting the bills? I suppose you two are together?" he asked gesturing between the pair of best friends.

They looked at each other and snorted. "No no, I'm actually with her," Tai slipped an arm around Sumiko's shoulders, who did not look pleased.

"Ah, I see. Sorry for my misunderstanding," the waiter apologized and collected their menus. "Your orders won't take long, the chef will be ready in a few minutes. My name is Matsuda if you need anything," with that he disappeared into the kitchen.

"How come you never told me that you like Sake?" questioned Sumiko strictly looking at her fiancé. "You know that I hate men who drink, _c'est inacceptable! _I don't get why people like this filthy drink so much, I mean alcohol clouds your judgement, causes cancer, gives you hangovers, and the next thing you know, you're addicted to it and need to be checked into rehab!"

Sora was a little taken aback by her reaction. She made Tai sound like someone who should join the Alcoholics Anonymous.

"Baby, calm down it's just _one _carafe! That's barely 300 ml," Tai reasoned.

"Well, one glass is all it takes to become alcoholic."

Tai rolled his eyes and muttered, "Here we go again."

"Excuse me? Don't give me that attitude mister, I'm just looking out for you!"

"Look, can we drop this –"

"Guys!" Sensing the outbreak of a quarrel, Sora interrupted. "Look, I shouldn't have ordered it. I'll drink the Sake, I have high tolerance." Twitching her lips, Sumiko threw her a disapproving look at that statement and an awkward silence ensued.

'_Definitely not a good first impression,'_ the redhead decided.

* * *

><p>"Honey I'm home!" Matt called out as he stepped inside his apartment and removed his shoes.<p>

"Hey babe, welcome back," greeted Mimi and pecked her boyfriend on the lips. "How was training at JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) today?"

"Exhausting, but at the same time it's really interesting. Today we continued our military water and land training. I scuba dived for three hours straight!"

"Sure sounds like fun," Mimi smiled. His face would always light up whenever he talked about space science and his different missions. Who would have thought that the cool and reserved Matt Ishida, out of all people, would one day develop a passion for space travelling?

Matt strolled to the kitchen to get something to drink. "So what's new today?" he asked after gulping a glass of water.

Mimi grabbed a fancy envelope from the dining table and handed it to him. "You won't believe this."

"What's this, another invitation to one of your parents' tea parties or something? Please tell me it's not it," beseeched the blonde. He pulled out an elegant card with impeccable calligraphy.

'_The honour of your presence is requested at the marriage of Miss Sumiko Yamasaki to Mr. Taichi Kamiya, Saturday the seventeenth of April 2012 at half past two in the afternoon.'_

Matt's eyes widened in shock and his jaw dropped slightly. "Is this some kind of elaborate joke? Tai is getting married to… who's this chick?" He asked pointing at picture of the bride-to-be printed on the invitation.

"Some Victoria's Secret model apparently," Mimi explained flashing him the article in the magazine.

He took it and skimmed through the pictures. "Well it's no question that she's gorgeous, but I always thought that Tai still has romantic feelings for Sora… It beats me how they never got together after all these years, when it's plainly obvious that they both like each other. You don't think that he still holds a grudge against her for going out with me all those years ago, do you?"

"I highly doubt it, Tai's not the unforgiving type," Mimi replied. "They're just both in denial."

Matt poured himself another glass of water. "So how did Sora react to this?"

"Honestly, I thought she would go berserk, but she agreed to be the maid of honour…"

Astonished, the former rocker spit the drink out of his mouth. "Wow, what's next, you're gonna tell me that this Sumiko girl is pregnant?"

"Thank goodness, no. But let's hope that's not the reason why they're tying the knot so unexpectedly."

* * *

><p>The rest of the evening went by drearily. Sora politely tried to act interested, nodding every once in a while, as <em>Susu <em>rambled on about herself, her modelling career, then about herself again… Her recent holiday in France, her obsession with candles, her aversion for cinnamon… With every passing minute, it was getting harder for the designer to not doze off. Seriously, how much can one talk about himself? She stole a glance at Tai, who was busy reading the dessert menu. _'Man he looks dazzling in that navy blue dress shirt...'_

As if he felt her eyes on him, Tai looked up, which caused Sora to snap out of her trance. "Anybody up for a round of desserts?" He asked.

"_Chéri_, you know that I don't eat desserts," Sumiko snapped folding her arms. "You know what they say, a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips!"

"Right, sorry I forgot. What about you Sor? Let me guess, deep fried ice-cream?" He grinned.

The model suddenly gasped. "You eat fried ice-cream? That's incredibly greasy _and_ fattening! It's like eating French fries drenched in milkshake, eww gross! No wonder you never model your own collections on the runway, with all this junk food you eat and drink I assume you're at least a size four?"

Sora frowned. _'Did she just call me fat?'_ She was beyond offended and fuming mad, nobody has _ever_ called her fat before. But not wanting to make a scene, she clenched her jaw and kept her mouth shut from retorting. _'Control yourself Sora, control yourself,'_ she mentally chanted.

Thankfully, Tai then said he had soccer practice early the next day and called it a night. Sora couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, she wasn't sure she could stand Sumiko's aggravating voice any longer for one night.

On her way back home, Sora speeded a little faster than usual. Who did that cow think she was? The nerve of that woman for even implying that she was… not fit! The more she thought about it, the more furious she became and the faster she drove. Then, red lights started flashing behind her car as she heard police sirens. She looked into her rear-view mirror and saw the driver signalling her to pull over.

_Wonderful._

A police officer walked over and tapped on her window, obligating her to roll it down. "Did I do something wrong officer?" She batted her eyelashes flirtatiously and asked in an innocent sing-song voice.

"In case you haven't noticed, you were speeding a good 30 km/hour above the limit. Driver's license please."

"Oh I was? I'm sorry I didn't see the speed limit sign. It won't happen again officer, I promise."

"Quit your innocent act on me, I'm not letting you off the hook that easily because you know what, _I_ believe in the law." He scribbled her information down and tossed her a ticket. "Don't think that just because you're some celebrity that you hold privileges, Miss _Sora Takenouchi_," he spat icily and walked back to his car.

30,400 yen and two demerit points.

_Great, just great._ This evening could not have gone any better.

* * *

><p>Mimi was nestled against Matt on the couch watching an evening sitcom on TV when her iPhone vibrated on the coffee table. She grabbed it to check, only to find an alert popped up on the screen notifying a new SMS. Upon reading the message her face instantly fell.<p>

Sensing her sudden stillness, Matt held her closer. "Everything alright babe?"

Mimi showed him the text message and his expression darkened as well. "This is bad news…" he frowned.

From: Sora Takenouchi, 22:47 p.m.

_I put some thought into what you said, and I've got an even better plan: I'm gonna break up his wedding._


	3. Plots

A/N: Heyy everyone! Thanks so much for all the reviews and support, I would've honestly given up without them considering the speed I'm writing at... Sorry this chapter took a while, I actually had most of it written a while ago, but it always felt incomplete... Anyway, your opinions are always most welcomed!

_Chapter 3 – Plots_

"She is utterly insufferable, self-centered, belligerent, domineering, obnoxious, shrill AND beyond annoying with her occasional French words, if those words even make sense," complained Sora in one single breath.

Mimi and Matt looked at each other questionably with raised eyebrows as their friend paced back and forth in their living room. They both had the same thought in mind: this whole wedding business was quickly becoming a hot mess. It was unusual for the designer to be in such an agitated state. She usually never had anything bad to say about anyone, yet here she was with her ongoing rant expressing her newfound hatred.

"Come on Sora, she can't be _that_ bad, it seems like you just pulled out all the negative adjectives from a thesaurus," Matt chuckled, only earning him a glare in return from the redhead. He cleared his throat and recomposed himself, "So you were saying?"

"She called _me_ fat and kept throwing me condescending dirty looks all night every time I ate or drank something remotely unhealthy," she crossed her arms. "Ooh look at me, I'm all bones and anyone who's not a size zero is grotesquely obese," she mimicked sarcastically. "I should get a medal for my level of self-control."

The designer grunted in frustration and slumped onto the sofa, reclining against the cushions. "I just don't get it, why would Tai pick a girl like that to spend the rest of his life with? From the way she talked about herself, they don't have _anything _in common. I wish someone can enlighten me on this riddle."

"Maybe she's amazing in bed," suggested Matt. Mimi smacked him in the head. "What, it couldbe a valid reason!" he defended.

"And they call him the intuitive one," Mimi roller her eyes. "Maybe it's the 'opposites attract' theory," she reasoned. "Who knows, they might be drawn to each other because of the whole mystery factor, or they both wanted to experience something new. Otherwise, the alternative explanation to the engagement is that Tai acted on impulse. He has always been rather rash, and he usually doesn't always think through the consequences of his actions. Too bad his brain isn't as big as his hair…"

Sora pondered thoughtfully. "Hmm… what you said does make sense, the 'opposites attract' theory actually never crossed my mind. But I don't think that's the main reason though…"

"Wanna hear what my theories are?" asked Matt.

The designer shrugged. "Sure, what are your insights, Dr. Phil?"

"The way I see it, there are two explanations. One, Sumiko is knocked up."

Sora's heart sank. "Knocked up?" Mental images of Tai becoming a father flashed through her mind: Tai holding an infant, carrying a child on his shoulders, playing soccer with a kid… She shut her eyes and shook her head to chase the images away. "So what's the second explanation?"

"He's just simply in love with her."

That was the last thing she wanted to hear.

"Think about it," the astronaut elaborated, "why would a young soccer superstar want to commit himself in a marriage when he has the world in the palm of his hand? No guy in his right mind would do that. Right now he can practically have any girl he wants, why would he settle with this one, especially when she's as unpleasant as what you claim her to be?"

"I guess there's only one way to find out," Sora concluded as she got up from the sofa. "Everybody's got a few skeletons in their closet, I'll just have to dig up hers. Call me stubborn, call me nosy, but I want to get to the bottom of this."

Mimi looked at her friend curiously. "What, so you're gonna hire a private investigator now?"

"Nope, I know just the perfect guy for the job," the redhead answered as her lips curved into a smirk.

* * *

><p>"No, absolutely not! I WON'T do it! Are you out of your mind Sora? This is Tai we're talking about, one of my best friends! Wait… scratch that, he's YOUR best friend! I don't want to be a home-wrecker, don't drag me into this!" The computer whiz shook his head incredulously and headed towards his work station.<p>

Sora trailed closely behind him. "It's nothing like that Izzy," she defended. "All I'm asking you is to do to find out… if there's anything unusual or peculiar about Sumiko."

"In other words, dig up dirt on her," he interpreted and turned around to look at her disapprovingly. "Sora, I can't believe you of all people are asking me for help to break up Tai's wedding! You've always been so protective of everyone, it really shocks me that you would even suggest such an unethical and immoral plan to purposely harm someone you barely know! How would you feel if someone did that to you?" He crossed his arms and asked rhetorically.

"Of course I would be pissed, but that's not the point! Look Izzy, I'm not asking you to sabotage their wedding! I just want to gather some background information on this girl. Like you said, as Tai's best friend and maid of honor, I want to know what he's marrying into!" Sora justified.

"I don't know, I'm still not convinced about this. And out of all people, why do you want _me_ to do it anyway?" The maroon-haired man inquired and sat down on his chair.

"Because you're one of the best hackers in Japan?" the designer stated as if it was the most obvious answer.

"Shhh not so loud!" The IT prodigy waved his hand in a shushing motion and hushed her.

Sora refrained herself from rolling her eyes. "As if your colleagues didn't know that already."

She sat on the edge of his cubicle desk and picked up a framed photograph of a grinning Izzy and Tentomon. She smiled at this, reminiscing their happier times when they were younger.

"You probably think that I'm a lousy friend right now," Sora spoke as she continued to look at the picture. "But all this just seems too fishy. I've known Tai my entire life and even though he can be brash at times, it's just not him to settle down with some stranger randomly like that. I have to find out what's going on."

"By snooping in his fiancée's personal life? I don't think he'll be very happy to hear that. I know you worry about him Sora, but Tai's a grown-up. He can make his own decisions," he countered a little more harshly than intended.

The redhead looked down at her feet and bit her lower lip. Truth be told, she hated how disdainfully she was behaving. It felt completely out of character for her to meddle in someone else's business, but lately she had been having a hard time controlling her emotions.

Izzy put a hand on her shoulder as a sign of comfort and sighed. "Do you really love him, or is this just about winning?"

Sora looked up to meet his gaze. She opened her mouth and was about to respond as someone walked straight into the laboratory.

A young man wearing big frames and a long white lab coat cleared his throat. "Excuse me for the intrusion, Mr. Izumi, but the research team found something vital. We just discovered a new species of Digimon!"

Izzy yelped excitedly. "Prodigious! I'll be there right away! I'm sorry Sora but I'll have to take a rain check on our meeting."

"Yea don't worry about it Iz, I should probably get back to work too." Sora said checking her watch. She grabbed her coat and headed towards the exit of the computer lab. Right before she turned the doorknob, she threw one final look at the maroon haired man and smiled weakly.

With that, she disappeared from his sight, the click of her stilettos echoing through the hall.

Noticing a frown on his boss' face, the young man asked carefully, "Everything alright Mr. Izumi?"

"Hmm? Yea... Now let's go take a look at those species!"

* * *

><p>Kari picked up some drawings from her students lying on her desk. One of them read "Prinses Kary" above an illustration of a stick figure crowned in a triangle that seemed to be a tiara. The young woman smiled to herself. She had the best job in the world. Becoming a kindergarten teacher had always been her dream. Ever since a young age, she always had a way with kids. Whether it was babysitting the neighbor's kids or tutoring younger students, they simply adored her. And having nice colleagues and long vacations are just a few of the added bonuses.<p>

"You coming to lunch with us Kari?" asked one of her coworkers peeping through the door.

"Nah I brought my lunch today, gotta catch up on some work. You guys go ahead and eat without me. But thanks for the offer," she beamed.

"Don't overwork yourself dear. Tell you what, we'll bring you back some dessert," her colleague promised and winked.

After sifting through a few more drawings, she decided to put them away and get started on her work. The brunette opened her agenda and stared at her to do list.

_Help choose the decoration at the wedding reception._

_Pick out the bridesmaids' dresses._

_Help with the bridal shower and Bachelorette planning_

_Organize the seating._

…

The list went on and on like an endless scroll of parchment. She exhaled and held her head in her hands.

How ironic, when she was little she always dreamed of being a bridesmaid. It always looked fun in movies: riding in a limo wearing a gorgeous dress, walking down the aisle with one of the charming groomsmen, catching the bride's bouquet while the crowd squeals in excitement… now for some reason she was not looking forward to any of it.

If someone told her two weeks ago that she would be a bridesmaid at her brother's wedding, she would've laughed at the idea and called that person bonkers. Knowing all too well about his laidback and carefree lifestyle, Tai getting married was the last thing she expected. In fact, she didn't think he'd marry until his thirties.

What a pleasant surprise she had when he told her about the news. Or rather, what an unpleasant surprise. Sumiko was nothing like she imagined: self-centered, superficial, inconsiderate, not to mention half of the time the model treated her brother like crap. Yet, the shrews are always blessed with remarkable beauty.

Kari always thought that Tai would end up with Sora someday, but sadly they didn't get the happy ending that everyone hoped for. Sometimes she really didn't understand what went through her brother's brain. One moment he was hopelessly infatuated with his best friend, then the next he decided to marry one of his flings.

The kindergarten teacher tapped the pen tip against her desk staring at her calendar. _One month till the wedding._ She groaned in annoyance.

She did _not_ want Sumiko as a sister in law.

Luckily Sora is the maid of honor so they'll be seeing each other very often from now on to carry out wedding duties together. Their frequent meeting from now on will greatly help her accomplish her plan: get Sora to confess her feelings to Tai.

Maybe only then will her brother realize the grave mistake he was committing.

* * *

><p>Chidorigafuchi, one of the most spectacular cherry blossom viewing sites in Tokyo, was quite a sight to look at this time of the year. Every year around early spring, seas of tourists from around the world would travel to this reputable destination to enjoy the fairylike vision of Sakuras blooming exquisitely.<p>

Sora liked to come to the park to take a promenade after a weary day at work. She strolled peacefully under the pink trees, breathing in the pleasant flower scent emitted by the blossoms. The environment soothed her and took her mind off things.

Besides the beautiful scenery of the park, this place was also special to her. When she was younger, she used to come here all the time after soccer practice with Tai. They would lie on the green grass under a Sakura tree and simply watch the clouds in silence, resting on a lazy afternoon. Reminiscing old memories, she suddenly felt a sense of palpable loneliness. She missed spending time with him. Nowadays she barely saw him anymore. '_He's probably too busy with Susu_,' she thought bitterly. Times sure have changed. Sometimes she wished she could be like Peter Pan, the kid who never grew up.

Spotting a bench, she went and sat down beside a granny, who was observing two little boys playing hide and seek. As the designer was about to reach for her sketchbook, she suddenly felt two hands gripping her shoulders shaking her violently.

"EARTHQUAKE!" bellowed a voice behind her unexpectedly.

Startled, the redhead jumped and let out a surprised squeak.

Only one person would do that to her, but it couldn't be…

"This never gets old, you freak out every time," Tai chuckled at her alarmed reaction. He apologized at the elder woman and sat down on the other side of Sora.

"Will you stop doing that already, you're giving other people heart attacks!" She scowled at the culprit. Sora nodded her head apologetically at the granny, who hand on her heart and looked at the prankster with wide fearful eyes.

She was about to lecture Tai, but upon seeing the sheepish grin on his handsome face, Sora couldn't help but soften her frown. "What are you doing here anyway?" she asked, surprised by his sudden appearance.

"Do I need a reason to see my best friend?"

Sora eyed him suspiciously. "How did you know I was here? I could've gone home, or went to run some errands for your wedding as a matter of fact."

"I'm a bit of a psychic, didn't you know?" He replied, arms folded behind his head.

"Oh really? Then what am I thinking now?" She challenged.

Placing an index finger on his chin, Tai squinted his eyes and furrowed his brows, trying to put on a thoughtful expression. "Probably something along the lines of _'I'm so lucky to have such a handsome man as my best friend!'_"

The redhead let out a sarcastic snigger. "In your dreams! More like '_I wonder who keeps stroking the already inflated ego of this immature goofball sitting next to me?'_"

The pair continued to chit-chat playfully. Before they realized, the sun was setting, gradually dimming the bright coral color of the sky.

"Come on," Tai said, suddenly grabbing Sora's hand and got up, leading her down the cherry blossom path.

"Where are we going?" Sora asked curiously as she picked up her pace, trying to catch up behind him.

"You'll see, but let's hurry before we miss it!"

After jogging for a few minutes, Tai halted abruptly in front of a dock, with dozens of little rowboats decorated with lanterns parked along it.

Sora looked around, still holding the brunette's hand. "A rowboat excursion?" she panted, slightly out of breath, "Isn't it getting a little too dark for it? It's creepy rowing into the dark waters, I don't wanna get lost…"

"Aww is little Sora scared?" he nudged her mockingly. "Come on, we won't get lost. You'll enjoy this, I promise."

"If you say so," she responded hesitantly, as Tai held out a hand and helped her get on the boat, boarding on it himself shortly after. After settling himself, he began rowing away from the dock.

The soccer player checked his watch, "8 p.m., it should be right about time."

As soon as he said that, as if by magic, thousands of little lights lit up all the cherry blossoms, illuminating a magnificent panoramic vision, like twinkling star on the vast sky. Music began to play softly in the background, further enchanting the ambiance. It took Sora's breath away.

She was rendered speechless. She closed her eyes, letting herself sink into the magic of the moment. "The view is amazing," she breathed softly.

"I knew you'd like it," the brunette smiled.

Sora reopened her eyes and found a pair of brown orbs studying her. "Why did you bring me here?" she asked.

Tai's cheery expression was suddenly replaced by a tensed look. "I want to apologize for the other day at the restaurant. Don't take Susu's words too seriously, she can sound offensive sometimes without really meaning to. You know how models have a skewed opinion on weight."

'_What an utter mood killer,'_ Sora groaned inwardly. She wished he could stop bringing her up in every single conversation because honestly, she really couldn't care less. "Is that the reason why you wanted to see me, so you can apologize for Sumiko?"

The slight annoyance in her tone did not go unnoticed by Tai, who was sensing another argument about to break loose. "No, I came to hang out with you like old times, since we haven't been doing that lately. I also wanted to make sure that there are no hard feelings between you two. You are the maid of honor afterall."

"Tai, do you really love Sumiko?" Sora asked, ignoring his explanation.

"I thought we already affirmed this the other night over the phone," he replied, surprised by her question.

"You never actually said that you love her."

"Does it really matter what I said? I wouldn't marry someone I don't like, will I?"

Sora knew he was avoiding the question. "Like and love are two different things, Tai," she continued. "I don't want you to make a decision which you'll regret."

"What makes you think that I'll regret it?" Tai stopped rowing at once and looked at her seriously.

"Well…" Sora began hesitantly, struggling to choose her words cautiously, "Sumiko is very pretty so I can understand why you're attracted to her, but you two… don't seem like the most compatible match."

"Are you saying that I'm superficial?"

"No! That's not what I mean at all!" she exclaimed. "She's just… how shall I put this… she doesn't seem like your type."

"Really?" Tai raised his eyebrows inquisitively and smirked, "Then who is my type?"

"Your type is… the girl next door_._ You need someone who understands and knows you, who shares your passions, who loves you for who you are. Someone like…" she wanted to say 'me', but decided against it. "Julianne Potter," she improvised instead.

"Who? Harry Potter?" Tai frowned, puzzled.

"No, you doofus! She's this character from a movie I watched recently played by Julia Roberts" she clarified. "...anyway, my point is, if you're gonna spend the rest of your life with someone, you want to make sure that she's the one. And the reason why it surprises me that you picked Sumiko is because she's the type of girl we used to make fun of all the time!"

Tai listened calmly and took Sora's hand in his. "Look, I understand your concern Sora and I know that this wedding seems sudden, but sometimes your heart knows things that your mind… just can't explain. Being with Sumiko gives me this indescribable feeling. She's everything that I'm not, and even though she drives me nuts sometimes, I'm absolutely crazy about her."

Seeing the hopeless smile on his face and the glint in his eyes, Sora couldn't help but feel her heart wrench.

Tai gave her hand a squeeze. "The power of love is a curious thing. I hope someday you'll find someone who'll make you feel the way Sumiko makes me feel."

Sora retrieved her hand abruptly, suddenly not wanting to be touched.

It seemed like she would need to re-strategize her plan.


	4. Swift

Heyy guys! Sorry for the delay and thanks so much for the reviews, they really mean a lot! (See below for review replies). Also, a quick shout-out to Melodisz for being an awesome beta, go check out her fics if you haven't already.

* * *

><p><em><span>Chapter 4 – Swift<span>_

"Yes Mr. Matsu I want fruit tarts along with chocolate dipped mini brownies," Sora instructed over her cellphone, standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows in her apartment. "No, not lemon or pecan, I said _fruit_ tarts."

Ten feet across, Kari sat at the dining table tying helium balloons to decorative weight, overhearing Sora in amusement.

"What do you mean what kinds of fruits? You're the caterer, put whatever fruit you usually put! Hang on a sec Mr. Matsu, I have an incoming call from the other line," the designer paused to answer the second caller. "Hello Mr. Kimura, yes…. right… uh huh… wait _what?_"

'Uh-oh, that doesn't sound good,' Kari thought as she sneaked a peek at the redhead. Sora's tone was getting edgier as the volume of her voice was rapidly rising.

"You can't deliver the lilies I ordered because your son wants to give them to his _girlfriend_? _All 200 of them? _Listen up Mr. Kimura, this is very important to me, I don't care how you're gonna get those lilies, whether you buy them from a competitor or magically summon some, I want to see 200 lilies delivered to my place tomorrow by 10 a.m. or I'll _never_ do business with you again!" The redhead barked authoritatively and hung up.

After a few more phone calls and more snarling, Sora heavily sighed then made her way to the dining room. "So how are the balloons going along?" She asked the younger girl.

"I'm almost done with them, this is the last bundle to go. What about the flowers? You sounded angry on the phone."

"Gosh don't even get me started." Sora rested her head on the table, cradled by her outstretched arm. "Why did I agree to do this?" she groaned, closing her eyes.

"Trust me, I feel the same way," sympathized Kari as she finished fixing the last set of balloons. "There, all done!" she exclaimed happily, proud of her work. "So what's next?"

Sora lazily opened an eye to peer at Kari. "We have to start setting up the place for tomorrow's bridal shower."

"You mean couple shower," Kari corrected. "Boy am I glad we decided to include Tai's friends at the shower as well, or else it'll be so boring not knowing anyone."

"Seriously!" Sora agreed and lifted her head up, holding her chin in one hand. "Hey I've been meaning to ask, who's the best man anyway? I'm surprised Tai didn't pick Matt."

"Well since Tai picked you as the maid of honor, Sumiko gets to pick the best man, and you'll never guess who it is," Kari raised her eyebrows.

"It's someone we know? But we don't share any common friends…" Sora trailed off, perplexed.

"He's not exactly our friend, more like an old acquaintance. I'll give you a hint – he had a crush on Mimi."

"But lots of guys had a crush on Mimi… you mean Joe? But it can't be because he's still our friend…" Sora ran a hand through her hair, racking her brains. "… unless you're talking about… _Michael_?"

"Yup, the one and only," Kari nodded. "Small world huh."

For a second, Sora simply gaped at Kari with her jaw hanging open, astonished. She was at a loss for words. Surprises never seemed to cease lately. "Sumiko and Michael know each other? But _how_?"

"Turns out she's one of his old flames, they remained close friends since their break-up. Don't ask me how they met, god knows womanizer Michael has his ways of getting chicks… But it's shocking to discover that Sumiko actually has friends, isn't it?" Kari asked, her voice dipped in sarcasm.

"So I take this as a cue that you don't like her either?" The designer cocked an eyebrow.

Kari sniggered. "Please, let's be honest here, who does besides Tai?"

"Apparently Michael," Sora shrugged. "What about your parents?"

"Mom and dad aren't exactly thrilled about the wedding either, but they can tolerate her better than I can. But you know Tai, if he sets his mind on something, it's hard to convince him otherwise."

The brunette carried the balloons to the living room and placed them neatly on the floor by the windows. "Ok no more wedding talk. So how's your life going? Seeing anyone lately?" she asked her friend nonchalantly.

"Dating doesn't exactly fit into my social calendar right now. I have a lot on my plate already with finalizing the upcoming collection, and now with the wedding…" the redhead trailed off.

"Come one Sora, you're young and single, go out and enjoy life! Tell you what, tonight I'm going to this new karaoke bar that opened near your place, why don't you join us?"

"Very tempting, but no thank you. I would rather not humiliate myself in front of a crowd of strangers and volunteer to be their laughing stock." Sora shook her head at the absurdity of the idea. Besides, she didn't want to be accused of noise pollution with her less than flattering vocals. "And who's 'us'?"

"Mimi, Matt, Joe, Yolei, Davis, TK and me," Kari counted them off of her fingers. "I didn't invite you at first because you have so much on your plate these days, but it seems like you can use some time off."

"Hmm it depends on my mood. I'll let you know tonight."

Knowing the older girl all too well, Kari interpreted that as a polite refusal. "Aww come on Sora, it's gonna be so much fun! I might even invite this really cute guy I've been wanting to introduce you if you come," Kari winked mischievously.

The designer narrowed her eyes. "Wait a second, I see what you're trying to do here… are you trying to set me up on a blind date again?" The redhead crossed her arms and eyed the younger girl suspiciously.

"Well I don't know about you, but my idea of blind date definitely isn't set in a crowded karaoke bar accompanied by seven of my friends…"

"Haha very funny," Sora responded, trying to keep her tone humorless. "Unless your friend looks like Cristiano Ronaldo, you can count me out."

Kari smirked knowingly at the reference. "Still into soccer players I see. Well you won't find out how good looking he is unless you come."

Sora suddenly wondered if Tai would be jealous if she'd gone out with a gorgeous bloke. She immediately felt silly at that thought. Of course he wouldn't, he was getting married for crying out loud.

"Fine, fine. I'll come," the redhead sighed and finally surrendered. "But I'm warning you, if you introduce me to another guy who's gonna talk about worms all night, our friendship is over."

Kari chuckled at the supposed threat. "I promise, you won't be disappointed with this one."

* * *

><p>"<em>Josef Mengele, also known as Nazi's angel of death, is hypothesized to be responsible for creating a twin town in Brazil. The town's population consists of an astonishing number of twins, averaging one in every five pregnancies. Interestingly enough, most of these twins are blond haired and blue eyed, physical traits which meet Hitler's criteria for the Master Race."<em>

Izzy laid in bed against the soft oversized pillows, listening to the baritone voice of the Discovery Channel reporter resonating from his television. Although the documentary was fascinating, his charcoal eyes were glazed over and unfocused. His brain couldn't digest this interesting theory since his mind simply refused to cooperate. His thoughts kept shifting to his earlier encounter with Sora. No matter how hard he tried to concentrate on the TV program, images of her desperate expression kept resurfacing his thoughts like a haunting ghost.

He had rarely seen her this bothered, but whenever he did Tai _always_ seemed to be the cause of her frustration. He wondered what Tai was up to again, marriage was quite frankly unusual for the soccer star's character, considering his more-than-friendly affection for a certain redhead. It was also no secret that his feelings never faded, so why Sumiko?

After all, he possessed the crest of knowledge, logic rarely failed him but still, he couldn't think of any rational reasons behind Tai's behavior lately. It was just simply illogical.

Izzy hated it when he couldn't comprehend.

'_Admit it, you're curious to find out what Sumiko is hiding up her sleeve_,' a devilish voice inside his head taunted. '_Besides, what's the harm in hacking a little into a stranger's computer? It's not like you've never done it before_. _Nobody has to know_…'

'_No_,' the righteous voice firmly insisted. '_You only do ethical hacking Izzy, invading someone else's privacy is immoral and unethical! It's against the law and karma will get you back_–'

'_This is hardly meddling a stranger's business!' _the other voice countered._ 'You're just helping out a friend!_'

Izzy buried his face in his hands and shook his head. This was _ridiculous_, he had to get a grip. Since when was he so interested in other people's personal lives?

Now, the reporter was interviewing habitants of the Brazilian town. "_Almost everybody's a twin here,_" said a middle-aged blond woman. "_Just take a look at my family for instance. I have a twin sister, my parents are both identical twins, and so were my grandparents,_" she explained as the camera zoomed in on the family album she was flipping through.

Izzy couldn't help but think that he had better things to do.

"Ah screw this," he muttered under his breath, finally giving in to his nagging curiosity. In one swift motion, he threw the comforter off of his body and got out of bed, headed towards his desk and turned on his Mac Book. Within minutes he loaded the necessary programs for his task in mind and completed all the preliminary steps.

Locating Sumiko's laptop was an amateur's work. The computer prodigy typed in a few commands here and there expertly, as if he had been hacking his whole life. It was almost second nature. The fun was the next step – breaking into the security system. The more complex and intricate a firewall was, the greater the excitement. He loved the fear of getting caught, it gave him a rush of adrenaline.

To his disappointment, Sumiko's security was just another average mediocre system with a poor firewall insensitive to skilled intruders. He penetrated through it on his first try.

How boring. A little challenge would have been enticing.

He then reminded himself that Sumiko was just another average person, not a secret agent of some sort. It took him a total of three minutes to crack all her passwords, and another five minutes to replicate a full copy of her hard drive onto his own.

In the meantime, he went to the kitchen to look for a snack. He returned with a bar of Coffee Crisp and mug of coffee, which he placed on a coaster next to his laptop. A little sugar and caffeine were necessary to help him concentrate.

This was going to be a long night but he was ready, determined to find the missing pieces of the puzzle and solve the enigma.

_Time to dig up some dirt_.

* * *

><p>Taking a sip from her strawberry Daiquiri, Sora looked around the bar. The décor was rather interesting. The stool on which she was sitting resembled a pair of legs while the tables were assembled by Legos. The ceiling lights of the room were dimmed and the crowd's attention focused on the stage. Spotlights were shining on an elderly man in his sixties who was now singing <em>Stand by Me<em>.

The performer was surprisingly good, hitting every note perfectly with his raspy voice. A few people clapped and sang along while some other nodded their heads to the rhythm of the song.

"Finally someone decent after five boring songs," Davis rubbed his eyes groggily. "I swear if someone sings a Miley Cyrus or Justin Bieber song one more time, I'll shoot myself."

"Seriously," Yolei nodded in agreement and straightened herself in her seat.

TK nudged his brother sitting to his left. "Hey why don't you go up there and show everyone how it should be done Matt?"

"Thanks but no thanks," the older Ishida replied flatly. "Why don't you go yourself?"

"Hey everyone! Sorry I'm late!" a voice suddenly cried from behind.

Everyone turned around to see a panting Kari jogging up to their table. She held one hand to her chest, trying to catch her breath while her other hand reached for Joe's drink and chugged it down in one gulp. "So refreshing," she sighed then placed the empty glass back on the lego table.

Joe stared at her wide-eyed. "Woah you look like you just ran a marathon… where have you been all night? We were all trying to reach you!"

"Yeah Kari, I thought you lost your phone, I must've sent you fifty text messages," TK agreed, taking in her disheveled appearance.

Kari was fanning her face with one hand. "Got caught in traffic, two cars crashed near the intersection and the cops blocked half the streets, had to do a big detour. So did we miss anything?"

"We? Kari you're the only one here…" Mimi gave her a confused look.

"Oh right that reminds me," Kari looked at Sora apologetically and took a seat next to her. "Sorry Sora, the cute guy I was talking about couldn't make it tonight, so I brought the next best thing."

The older girl looked around and didn't see anybody accompanying Kari. "You mean… yourself?"

"No silly," Kari replied with a giggle, peering at the entrance door. "Where the heck is he?"

Sora turned around, following Kari's line of sight, only to have her vision clouded by a mass of brown hair.

"Hello stranger," Tai grinned and bent down to give her a hug. "Hey guys!" He then saluted the rest of the group, disengaging himself from his best friend's arms.

The rest of the group greeted him.

"One would think that the groom would be preoccupied with all the planning three weeks before his wedding but this doesn't seem to be your case," Joe remarked, pushing his glasses up onto his nose.

"Well I'm the groom. All I need to do is show up on my wedding day in an impeccable tux, make myself pretty and look dazzling. The women do the rest of the job. That's why we need the maid of honor and so many bridesmaids," the brunette winked.

Kari clapped her hands together and looked at the group. "Ok guys, let's make this a bit more interesting. Instead of choosing your own song, everyone pick a song for the person sitting to your right."

The group had mixed reactions to Kari's proposal. Mimi, TK, Tai and Yolei were in favor, while Sora, Matt, Joe and Davis were against the idea.

"Five against four folks, looks like everybody will have to sing, no whining like it or not," Kari resolved with a grin.

After everyone settled on a song for the person next to them, they all went to notify the DJ, who added their choices on the playlist.

As a young woman finished singing _Killing Me Softly_, the host of the bar stepped on stage taking the microphone from her. "And now, which lucky young man is Davis?" he asked the crowd as everyone looked around in curiosity.

Before Davis had time to react, TK grabbed his wrist and lifted it in the air. "Here he is!"

Davis tried to snatch his arm away but TK firmly held it in place. "What did you do _TJ_!_?_" He glared sideways at the smirking blonde.

Kari was right, teasing Davis was too much. The intentional name slip just proved how nervous the maroon haired boy was getting. TK bit the insides of his lips to restrain himself from laughing. "Why don't you go up there and find out, unless… you're too chicken of course."

Undoubtedly, Davis hated when his ego was at stake, _especially_ when jeopardized by TK. "Nobody calls me chicken! In case you didn't know, I'm the personification of courage! Wait until you get _your _song TA!" he snapped and shot up from his seat.

All the DigiDestined cheered on loudly with Tai and TK being the loudest as Davis walked on stage.

"Ah there you are!" the MC exclaimed and gestured for the young man to stand in the center. "Davis here will be singing _Party in the U.S.A._ by Miley Cyrus! Let's give it up for Davis everyone!"

All the colors drained from Davis' face. At that moment, he desperately wished he hadn't come to this stupid bar.

Miley Cyrus was definitely the last choice on his list. Heck, she wouldn't even be on the list. Luckily for him, Jun sang this song every so often in her showers, if one could even call that horrible screeching sound _singing_. Otherwise he would be standing on stage reading the lyrics out loud like a fool.

As Davis struggled and choked through most of the lyrics, missing more than a few notes here and there, his friends roared with laughter. Davis glared at his table and saw the guys clutching their stomachs, doubled up. As for the girls, he thought he caught Yolei wiping a tear off the corner of her eye.

TK would be a dead man_._ He'd make sure of that.

* * *

><p>"It's your turn now, hon." Mimi smiled sweetly at her boyfriend and placed a hand behind his back to give him a slight push.<p>

"Please tell me you didn't pick one of your girly songs…" the blond dreaded, suspiciously glancing at his girlfriend.

"Nope, don't worry, I picked an oldie sung by a man," she gave him a lopsided grin and crossed her legs.

"Thank goodness… I'm not complaining as long as I don't have to hit impossibly high octaves," Matt sighed, the rigidness of his shoulders relaxed. Little did he know that his relief was short-lived.

The MC was back on stage to introduce the next singer. "Our next performer will be singing a Tom Jones classic," the MC spoke into the microphone. "Please give a round of applause for Matt Ishida, who will be singing _Sex Bomb_!"

Mortification was an understatement. Matt looked beyond petrified while the crowd whistled and clapped their hands in anticipation.

"Ooh la la, who knew Matt was into this kind of kinky stuff?" Tai sniggered as the rest of the group howled with laughter.

"What the hell is this, _humiliation night_?" the astronaut protested and narrowed his eyes at his girlfriend, who was sitting to his left.

Mimi gave his hand a squeeze and flashed an innocent smile. "I thought it's good for you to get out of your comfort zone once in a while and you know, explore a new genre of music."

Matt put an index finger on his chin and pretended to frown. "Hmm, and by new genre of music you mean… _humiliation_?"

"Relax Matt, it's just a song! It'll all be over in five minutes," TK comforted pitifully. "It could've been worse. And didn't you say you're not complaining as long and it's not a Mariah Carey song?"

"Easy for you to say," he grumbled darkly. "You're not the one who has to make the crowd feel uncomfortable. I would rather sing Miley Cyrus than this."

"Man this is cheering me up already!" Davis chuckled, only to receive a spiteful glare in return.

Matt closed his eyes and calmly strolled on stage, as if a condemned man has accepted his fate. His cheeks were blushing scarlet. He never experienced stage fright, not even when he performed with the Teenage Wolves in front of the entire school. But at this instant he just wanted to hide behind the curtains, shrivel up and die.

The introductory instrumental music of the song started to play. He could hear his heart thumping loudly against his chest. He swallowed and cleared his throat.

"_Spy on me baby use satellite_…" he muttered in an inaudible voice, running a hand through his hair unconsciously. "_Infrared to see me move through the night_…"

A few girls sitting close to the stage watched him with dreamy eyes, swooned by Matt's suave looks.

The MC waved at the DJ and motioned him to turn up the volume of the microphone. The DJ nodded in return and Matt's voice was instantly amplified, echoing through the bar.

His friends whistled loudly. Davis was grinning widely, filming the performance with his cellphone. Matt made a mental note to steal that little punk's phone later and kick his butt.

"… _Aim gonna fire_… _shoot me right, aim gonna like the way you fight_…"

Could the lyrics _be_ any more embarrassing? "_Sex bomb, sex bomb, you're a sex bomb, you can give it to me when I need to come along_."

To his surprise the spectators were singing the chorus along with him in unison. He was thankful that there wasn't a least bit of awkwardness. The audience's involvement and voluntary participation gave him a boost of confidence and he began singing with more firmness in his voice.

The rest of the performance went by fairly smoothly. It wasn't as dreadful as he initially anticipated. As the song came to an end, the karaoke bar was drowned out by cheers and whistles with the female spectators being noticeably louder. Matt bowed curtly and returned to his seat.

"Aww little Matty is blushing!" Tai taunted and pinched his friend's cheek.

"You look like you got a sunburn," Sora chimed in. "And seems like you just gained another fan club," she pointed at some giggling girls sitting nearby.

Sora and the others had so much fun teasing Matt that she forgot her turn was coming up. Her cheery spirits were suddenly interrupted by the MC's next announcement. "And now, our next guest will be performing _Speak Now_ by Taylor Swift. Let's all hear it for Sora!"

Sora thought it was an odd choice by Kari. It wasn't anything embarrassing or humiliating like TK or Mimi's picks, but it wasn't a song she had on her iPod either.

With a deep breath, she mustered up all her courage and walked up the stage. The intimidating spotlight shone brightly on her. She put her hands awkwardly on the microphone stand and peered down at the lyrics appearing on the screen in front.

"_I am not the kind of girl_…" her voice croaked, "_who should be rudely barging in on a white veil occasion, but you are not the kind of boy who should be marrying the wrong girl_."

Wait a minute… this sounded strangely familiar. As she continued singing, she couldn't help but think the lyrics reminded her of something…

"… _This-i-i-i-is i-i-i-is surely not what you thought it would be, but I-I-I-I-I lose myself in a daydream… Don't say yes, run away now, I'll meet you when you're out of the church at the back door, don't wait or say a single vow, you need to hear me out and they said speak now_."

Then it hit her.

This song was about _her. _It portrayed her situation and feelings so perfectly she couldn't have put it in better words herself. Whether it was a pure coincidence, or a scheme, she couldn't decide. Kari couldn't possibly know… could she?

Sora gripped the microphone more tightly to stop her hands from trembling. Her eyes wandered around the room. The audience wasn't nearly as hyped up as when Matt was doing his Tom Jones number. Her stage presence paled in comparison but all eyes were still on her.

She gazed each of her friends. Mimi was giving her the thumbs up. Kari and Yolei were swaying their heads from side to side to the beat of the song. Matt was still at red as a lobster, the tint on his cheeks never fading. TK, Davis and Joe beamed at her. Then, her crimson orbs finally landed on the last person, Tai – her best friend, the man she thought she'd one day be with, the man who was also _getting married _in three weeks.

"_She-ee-ee-e floats down the aisle like a pageant queen, but I-I-I-I kno-o-o-ow, you wish it was me, you wish it was me don't ya?_"

Maybe it was the darkened lighting, maybe it was the mood of the bar. But whatever it was, a surge of emotions suddenly overcame her, overpowering her senses. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Tai, whose stare was fixated on her just as intensely. She felt his gaze was probing her thoughts and penetrating her mind, as if he knew each word was directed to him. For a second, she thought she saw a glimpse of sadness flashed through his eyes but that thought dissipated just as quickly as it came when he shifted his focus elsewhere.

Sora was staring so absorbedly at Tai that she missed Kari's sly smirk.

'_Exactly as planned_,' the younger Kamiya thought. This was working better than expected. The right songs tend to bring out suppressed emotions in people, and the increased self-confidence resulting from the influence of alcohol was just another added bonus.

As the music stopped playing, the DigiDestined were all left speechless, unsure of what to say.

"Wow… what was that all about?" Joe finally broke the silence, glancing from Sora's flustered expression on stage to Tai's uncomfortable one.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think Sora was confessing to Tai or something!" Yolei half laughed. "Good choice of song Kari!"

Tai ignored Yolei's comment and grabbed the beverage menu. He stared at the laminated piece of paper in his hands, pretending to be deeply immersed in the list of drinks.

Noticing her brother's uneasiness, Kari came to his rescue. "So who's the next victim?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

Leaning into Mimi's ear casually, Matt murmured in a low voice: "Their tension was so thick that I could cut it with a knife… that wasn't part of Sora's plan was it?"

"If it was then it certainly wasn't the best move," she whispered back, looking worried. "It can't be though, Sora's more meticulous than that."

Returning back to the group from her act, Sora unconsciously glanced at Tai nervously, who instantly looked away. She excused herself and headed towards the exit. She needed some fresh air.

As she stepped outside, she touched her burning cheeks and grimaced, squeezing her eyes shut.

_What the hell just happened?_

* * *

><p><span>Review replies:<span>

Ezio Uchiha: Thanks for all your reviews, I was very flattered when you said that you had to make time to read my story! I like your idea of using Davis as bait to tempt Sumiko, I never thought of that but it certainly changed my entire perspective on Davis' role in this story. Hope you liked the Mimato in this :p

Tamer of the Zero Unit: Looks like Izzy wasn't so hard to convince after all!

TaioraWarrior: Thanks for your reviews! I always thought Kari was the sneaky one, she'll definitely have some more tricks up her sleeve. As for Tai, he seems to be thickheaded in every story here lol! I'll definitely try my best to finish the story and hopefully the direction it's heading won't disappoint you :)

Vigatus: Thanks for reading my story, and you'll see Sora's plan in action soon ;)

kyoshira7: Thanks for your encouragement! It makes me happy to know that you haven't lost interest in this.

Taiora-AAML-Serena-Darien: Glad you liked it!

JadeBrycin2116: I completely agree, their careers are so random! It still shocks me that the ending got screwed up so badly…

Skye-Excalibur: Thanks so much for your feedback! I hope the future chapters will live up to your expectations. And thanks to awesome writers on this website I get that feeling of nostalgia too! Hope you liked this chapter :)

pinkwing40: Thanks! And yes it will ultimately be Taiora even though it's slow paced now.

readerchick6: If you're still reading this, I hope you liked the song. Thanks for making me discover it, it inspired me to write this chapter.


	5. Photographs

_A/N_: Thanks for all your wonderful reviews guys! And sorry for the long wait, with school restarting and everything, I've been bombarded with assignments lately... but I promise to finish what I started and complete this story with shorter update intervals hopefully. If you have any comments/criticism/suggestions please feel free to leave a message.

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><p><em><span>Chapter 5 – Photographs<span>_

"I forgot something in my car, I'll be back in a bit," Sora excused herself and headed towards the exit.

Everyone watched the redhead leave worriedly. They all glanced at one another, but nobody knew what to do or say after witnessing the unforeseen performance. Kari was about to open her mouth to break the quietness, but she changed her mind and quickly closed it again.

Instead, the brunette looked at her brother expectantly. To her dismay, Tai remained immobile, glued to his seat, as he saw Sora dashed out the door out of the corner of his eye.

He was at a loss of words.

Part of him wanted to chase after her to ask for an explanation, but the other part of him was still trying to comprehend what just happened on stage.

An uncomfortable silence lingered in the air. Everyone around the table gave him nervous looks, but at this moment he really couldn't care less about the others, as his mind was preoccupied with his own thoughts.

Why did she run away? Did the song bear a hidden meaning, or was it simply a coincidence? Most importantly, _did she just confess to him_?

A thousand questions were racing through his mind and for the first time in his life, he didn't know the answers or what his best friend was thinking. Usually he could read her with minimal effort, sometimes without even looking at her face. Their parents always joked that the two of them shared a mutual telepathic communication bond. But tonight, he was lost and confused.

It couldn't possibly be, could it? After all these years of indifference and ignorance, it was highly improbable that Sora harboured any kind of romantic feelings for him. She made that crystal clear when she flatly rejected him and chose Matt all those years ago. Hence to even consider such probability made him feel delusional and pathetically hopeful. He had long accepted his fate of being perpetually stuck in the infamous friend zone.

On the other hand, he was positive that it wasn't just his imagination. She was staring blindly at him throughout the entire song. He almost couldn't bare the intensity of her eyes piercing through his own. That beseeching, desperate look she emitted definitely conveyed a message, almost as if she was trying to tell him to… _break off his engagement_?

This whole situation was utterly bizarre and absurd.

Thinking back to the old days, Tai couldn't count how many times he had fantasized about Sora professing her undying love for him. If this happened six months ago, he would have screamed in ecstasy. Yet the feeling overwhelming him at the moment was not what he anticipated. It wasn't happiness, it wasn't excitement.

It was fear.

Tai recalled the promises he made to Sumiko, and the consequences they entail if he ever broke them. The mere thought made him shudder in anxiety. Sora wasn't supposed to start seeing him in a new light, especially not at such an inopportune time. It would complicate matters further than they already were.

It didn't matter if he had to sacrifice his own happiness by living in a lie. It didn't matter if he would never be with the girl of his dreams. It was a compromise he chose to make for the sake of the very same girl.

He would do whatever he could in his power to prevent _Sumiko_ from exposing the dark secret that was supposed to be kept buried.

* * *

><p>Kari wanted to scream in frustration.<p>

Her plan was working perfectly up to the point when her idiotic brother decided to just sit there like a lifeless ventriloquist's dummy. He was supposed to _chase_ after Sora, tell her that he was stupid for thinking Sumiko was the right girl, then the two of them would live happily ever after.

If only life were like that.

She clearly overestimated her brother. She should've known…

She pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head in despair.

How. Could. He. Be. That. _THICK_.

She had strategically planned this whole karaoke outing, played matchmaker, made up an imaginary bloke just to get Sora to sing the perfect song. She had not expected that all her efforts go to waste like that. No, she _refused_ to let her efforts go to waste like that.

She carried her stool next to her brother and sat down. "So what did you think of Sora's performance?" she asked casually.

Her question caused him to break out of his trance and meet her gaze. "I'm surprised she knows how to sing a Taylor Swift song, it's not something she would have on her iPod. Now Matt's performance quite spectacular," he grinned lopsidedly.

She could tell that he was avoiding the subject.

"You didn't notice anything peculiar about the way she stared at you?" she insisted. "She looked like she was about to cry. Maybe you should go check on her."

"What stare? You're imagining things Kari," Tai laughed, frowning at her remark. "She looked at everyone, not just me. Besides, she was probably just embarrassed _you_ picked such as girly song. Sora was never a big fan of American tween idols."

"It wasn't a look of embarrassment, Tai," she shook her head. "Something seemed to be bugging her from the way she twitched… and carried herself nervously, something about her body language…"

"That was just stage fright, not everyone has the guts to sing in front of a group of strangers you know," he reasoned, twirling with a cocktail umbrella in his fingers.

"No that's not it, you're in denial I'm telling you –"

Tai stopped playing with the cocktail umbrella at once and tossed it on the table. "Will you leave Sora alone? You're making illogical assumptions based on a game. If you're so worried why don't you go and talk to her yourself?" he reproached, slightly annoyed by the persistence of his sister. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go to the washroom," he pushed his chair backwards and stood up.

Kari was about to retort when she felt some someone nudge her arm. She turned her head to look at the interrupter.

"So did you pick that song on purpose?" Yolei leaned in and asked in a low voice.

_Dammit Yolei, not now._

"No of course not, I just thought it'd be a good upbeat karaoke song." Kari lied through her teeth. She didn't want to be the source of any gossips. Things were already complicated enough as they were.

Yolei looked unconvinced, but Kari didn't feel like explaining herself at the moment. Other things were preoccupying her thoughts.

_Why was Tai acting so ignorant?_

* * *

><p>Mimi caught the exchange between the Kamiya siblings. Although she couldn't hear the content of their conversation due to the loud music in the background, she could clearly see that Kari was not happy with Tai's inaction. Judging by the frowning look on his face, Tai didn't seem to have figured out the message of Sora's song.<p>

If Tai wasn't going to do anything about it, she decided she would go and talk to her best friend herself.

Stepping outside the entrance doors, Mimi instantly spotted Sora sitting on the steps of the side entrance. The designer had her folded arms resting on her knees, staring absentmindedly at the passing cars on the road. Mimi walked quietly towards the dejected figure and sat down beside her.

She rubbed Sora's back soothingly with her left hand. "Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?"

The designer brushed a hand through the silky locks of her auburn hair. "Do you think Kari set up the whole thing and picked that song purposely?" Sora asked without tilting her head.

Mimi shrugged. "I don't know, it's possible. That girl had always been the sneaky one, nobody but herself knows what she's up to."

"I guess so," the redhead replied monotonously.

The two remained silent for a while, listening to the faint music coming from inside the bar.

"He clearly didn't get it, did he? I mean, he didn't even come after me to ask me what the whole thing was about," the redhead finally said.

Mimi wasn't sure how to console her friend. When it came to Tai, heart-to-hearts with Sora were never easy. "… He's probably just confused… or oblivious as always."

"That's always his problem, isn't it? He never gets anything, or at least he's pretending not to," the other girl choked out a humourless laugh. "How much more obvious could I get? I just told him in front of what seemed like a gazillion people to break off his wedding. Do I have to literally spell it out for him that I like him?"

The brunette listened patiently to her friend's melancholic reflection and clamped her mouth shut. She had many things to say but decided that now was not the best time to interrupt.

"I'm not blind, from the way he talks and looks at me sometimes, I can tell that he still likes me at least a little," Sora continued. "So why can't he just man up and admit it?"

Mimi chewed on her bottom lip and chose her words carefully. "Tai isn't exactly in an easy position. He is getting married in less than a month after all. It would be hard for him to call it off just like that, especially when his wedding had already been so massively publicized by the media as you've seen on those magazines you showed me. Besides, maybe he didn't think the lyrics meant anything."

Sora stared at her feet shamelessly. "I'm sorry I have to make you listen to all this crap Mimi, you must think I'm a horrible person right now..."

"No you're not, you're just trying to fight for someone whom you think is worth fighting for," Mimi placed her left hand on her friend's and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"I know I'm not one to complain, having rejected Tai once before, I shouldn't expect anything except for him to move on. But sometimes I just wish things turned out differently," the designer trailed off with a hint of sadness in her voice. "It's all my fault."

"Don't say that," Mimi shook her head. "You know what Shakespeare would say to you if he was still alive?"

The sudden mention of Shakespeare caught Sora off guard. She quirked an eyebrow in curiosity. "… That I'm an assertive and selfish shrew who should be tamed before I sabotage my best friend's wedding?"

"No silly," Mimi rolled her eyes. "_The course of true love never did run smooth."_ Seeing the other's girl's perplexed expression, she explained:"It's from _A Midsummer Night's Dream. _Life is full of obstacles and challenges which you'll have to overcome, and love is no different."

Mimi was so quirky and random sometimes, but Sora nonetheless brightened at the quote. That was what she loved about her friend. She always managed to cheer her up whenever she was brooding.

"What should I do Mimi? I feel so humiliated and hopeless," she asked her confidant.

"I hate reciting the same old words over and over again, but why don't you just tell him face-to-face how you really feel? Or else you might never know his answer," her best friend advised sincerely.

"I want to, I really do. But every time I see him, I just can't bring myself to do it," Sora confessed.

There were so many things Sora wanted to say to him. She wanted to tell him that his fiancée was insufferable, that the two of them will never get along. She wanted to tell him that he was marrying the wrong girl, and that the right one was right in front of him. Most importantly, she wanted to tell him that she loved him, and she wished he picked her instead. But once again, her courage failed and she couldn't bring herself to utter any of those words. Instead she just fled like a coward, like she always did.

Some crappy bearer of love she was.

The more she thought about it, the more she hated herself. Mimi had a point. She would have to confront him at some point or else she would wind up living a life full of regrets.

"You know what, you're right, I should be more proactive and stop chickening out," Sora stood up and clenched her fists. "In fact, you know what? I'll go and tell him right here, right now."

"That's the spirit girl," Mimi cheered, stretching her legs and equally stood up. "Come on, let's go back inside and find him."

As the pair reached their friends, Sora asked, "Where's Tai?"

"He left, he said something about having to pick up Sumiko," TK replied.

Sora gritted her teeth. The stupid cow was once again standing in her way.

* * *

><p>Since the karaoke outing from the previous night, Sora had neither heard nor talked to Tai. They both pretended that nothing happened. She would eventually have to face him the following day at the couple shower, and honestly she wasn't looking forward to it anymore.<p>

Pushing all thoughts aside, she tried immersing herself in her work instead.

Scrutinizing the various front and back drafts on her latest ideas, Sora wondered if the fabric swatches selected matched the designs. Although velvet seemed to be a recent emerging trend, she personally wasn't particularly fond of it. Touching and the different pieces of material analytically, she decided that she would need to ask her assistants to sew a few prototypes to compare the different options.

As she scribbled down the lining and trimming information on her sketches, her telephone began ringing. The display screen indicated and incoming from her secretary.

She pressed the 'speakerphone' button. "Yes Akira?"

"Hello Miss Takenouchi, a guest by the name of Sumiko is requesting to see you."

'_Urgh,_' Sora thought unenthusiastically. Her favorite person decided to pay her a visit, joy.

"You can let her in," she instructed over the speaker.

Sumiko waltzed into her office, looking beautiful as always in a casual shirtwaist dress.

"Salut ma chère Sora, comment vas-tu? (Hello my dear Sora, how are you?)" the bride-to-be asked, taking off her sunglasses and placing them on top of her head.

Sora refrained herself from clicking her tongue. The French talk was seriously starting to get on her nerves. How was she supposed to respond to something she didn't understand? She pursed her lips and stifled her annoyance. Sora flashed a forced smile instead.

"I passed by Kenko, the drugstore around the corner, and got you something," Sumiko reached in her Louis Vuitton Damier bag and took out a large container. "Voilà! Strawberry Supreme Slim-Fast Powder!"

The nerve of her! The desire to grab the stupid container and chuck it at the cow was overwhelming. Instead, Sora gripped the fabric swatch in her hand fiercely under the table. She could feel her own nails digging into her palm through the piece of material. _Must. Remain. Calm_.

"So listen, I know you started planning my wedding and everything, but I just thought of something," Sumiko clapped her hands together animatedly and lifted her shoulders. "I want my wedding in Paris."

Sora lost her cool and slammed both hands on the table. "What? I thought you wanted your wedding at Park Hyatt Tokyo? I confirmed with all the guests already, and on top of that the seating arrangement has been organized, the menus chosen, the dinnerware picked out –"

"I know, I know. But I changed my mind," the model flicked her thick glossy hair behind her shoulder. "I thought about it and Paris is more romantic, don't you think?"

"That's not relevant," Sora snapped. "Isn't this a bit last minute? A lot of the guests won't be able to make it, your wedding is only _three weeks away_."

The model crossed her arms and reclined against the chair. "Too bad if they can't. I have other relatives in France who will substitute those missing guests, not that I really care."

Sora looked at the other girl sternly. "That's not a very professional or polite thing to do," she reprimanded.

"Why should I care about professionalism and politeness? I can do whatever pleases me, this is a once in a lifetime event and I want to make it special," she said indifferently.

Bridezilla wanted a special wedding? Oh she would make it _special_ alright. "Now you're just being inconsiderate."

Sumiko uncrossed her arms, a shade of annoyance flitted across her face. "Is this your wedding or mine? The last time I checked, the bride gets to choose her own location. When you'll have _your_ wedding, you can do whatever you want honey," her voice was rapidly rising.

Sora was fuming. Seething. "Fine, do whatever you want, but don't say I didn't warn you. If something goes wrong I'll tell you '_I told you so'_."

"That won't happen or else you'll be held liable for not fulfilling your duties as my maid of honor,"the model pointed a finger at the other girl. "Je plaisante! (I'm kidding!)" she said after a short pause.

Sora did not laugh.

For the next fifteen minutes Sumiko was babbling about something… again. It was like listening to an endless radio. She stopped listening and didn't even bother nodding her head or look at her nemesis once in a while. She only picked up a few words here and there. She thought she heard "Versailles", "cheese" and "reception".

'_Keep talking, I always yawn when I'm interested_,' Sora mentally snorted and rolled her eyes. "I highly doubt that Versailles would be one of the rental halls that serves rubber chicken," she thought the last part out loud before realizing.

"No, ma chère, I was saying I want my wedding _pictures_ taken at Versailles. Of course I know that they don't host secret weddings, I'm French afterall."

"You are?" Sora looked up, suddenly interested by the revelation.

"Uh, well I'm… part French."

"Oh, like Matt and TK. I always thought you looked foreign. But nowadays with all the make-up, plastic surgeries, color contacts, tanning, hair dye and all that stuff that it's hard to tell." It was a cheap shot, not that she cared. "I would've guessed you're Italian because of your raven black hair and prominent features. But I guess that explains why you're so into the French culture."

Sumiko nodded. "Yeah… So you'll help me plan a French wedding then?"

Sora sighed. She didn't have much of an option. "I guess so."

* * *

><p>Izzy had been browsing through Sumiko's files for the past five hours. Word documents, saved MSN conversations, Internet history… he noticed nothing unusual. Her credit card transactions reflected nothing but another one of those spoiled rich girls who dined and lived in luxury.<p>

Closing his strained eyes caused by prolonged computer usage, he rubbed his eyelids in a slow, circular motion. It was a relaxation exercise he often practiced to relieve the tension in his eye muscles and to reduce his growing fatigue.

Even though he couldn't find a single trace of suspicious data, he guts was telling him that he missed something important.

As he reopened his eyes after his soothing massage, he decided to tackle Sumiko's personal pictures. He double-clicked on a folder labeled 'Elle Modelling Shoot'. Enlarging the first icon, he saw an unmistakably attractive girl. Dark wavy hair, brilliant fox-like bluish eyes, diamond shaped face… She had both arms crossed, leaning against a wall on one foot. The pointed-toe stilettos accentuated her long legs, while the black tight dress hugged the curves of her body with a slit that went up her thigh. All in all, her confident pose gave her a femme fatale allure.

No wonder Tai fell head over heels for her. She was stunningly beautiful even for a model.

The rest of the photos were of similar nature, all professional shoots taken on different occasions. A slight awkward and guilty feeling surged over him for stalking his friend's fiancée. But hey, thousands of other strangers probably saw these images too when they purchased Elle and whatever other magazines she posed for.

As he browsed through the rest of the folders, a picture in particular suddenly caught his attention. He zoomed in on it and examined it more closely. It revealed a young blonde girl of around fourteen, wearing what appeared to be a Christmas costume.

She looked oddly familiar. Could she be related to Sumiko? They looked somewhat alike…

Rubbing his temples, he tried to rack his memories.

_Where had he seen her before?_

* * *

><p><em>Review Replies:<em>

**_Tame of the Zero Unit_**: Thanks for your reviews :) I apologize for the long wait, I hope this chapter wasn't too boring.

**_xcandydots_**: Glad to find another Mimato fan! A lot of people don't get where this pairing comes from, but hey that's why we call this fanfiction ;) Thanks for your reviews!

**_TaioraWarrior_**: Agreed! Embarrassing situations are entertaining… as long as they don't involve us! And thanks for always reviewing!

**_Leon Ciasslasi_**: Thanks for leaving a comment! You're right, unfortunately there are always some people who fail to see that, sigh. One can be optimistic and hopeful I guess.

**_Vigatus_**: Thanks for sharing your experience! When did you go to Japan? Well I'm glad you had fun there :) I wanted to go too but after the whole tsunami thing it wasn't an ideal travel destination anymore… for now. Sorry for americanizing the characters haha, I'll try to do better researches next time.

**_Taiora-AAML-Serena-Darien_**: Thanks! I love Izzy too! He's one of my favourite characters.

**_Skye-Excalibur_**: Thank you so much! It's reviewers like you who keep me motivated :)

**_taiorafan_**: Thank you I'm really flattered! Sorry there wasn't a long Taiora moment in this chapter, but I'll try to insert one in the upcoming scenes!


	6. Jeopardy

A/N: Thank you all so, so much for all your amazing reviews! They make me really happy and keep me motivated! I'm very sorry for the delay, I thought I could have this chapter up earlier, but I'm a little picky when it comes to editing so it took a lot longer than expected. Hopefully you haven't given up on this story yet.

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><p><em>Chapter 6 – Jeopardy<em>

Colorful balloons adorned every corner of the apartment, adding a touch of cheerfulness. The subtle yet delicate smell of blossoming lilies filled the air, with soft melodious music playing in the background. The stylishly decorated penthouse radiated life and energy as excited invitees enjoyed themselves.

Holding a glass of champagne in one hand, Sora took a moment to marvel at her own work. She was not one to boast, but she had to admit the setting looked fabulous. She checked her watch. 11:00 a.m. Guests gradually started arriving at the event, each one bringing brightly wrapped presents decorated with fancy bows and ribbons.

"This bridal shower is great. You've really outdone yourself Sora," Cody complimented as he toured around the apartment. "But why am I invited again? Isn't this supposed to be a women thing?"

"Normally, yes," she smiled at the ever-so-serious law student. "But I decided to go against traditions and make this a couple shower instead, I figured it'll be more fun this way. Besides, Sumiko said all her relatives are out of town, they won't be able to make it."

He added his neat gift bag to the growing pile. "Well that's unusual… not even her parents?"

"Nope," she shook her head. "Out of town too."

Cody's eyes flicked from her face to her left. "Looks like Izzy wants to talk to you," he pointed a finger past her shoulder.

She turned her head and saw Izzy quickly approaching, dressing in a smart casual attire – a combination of a blue dress shirt with a pair of grey slacks.

"Hey Sora can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure Izzy, what's up?"

He glanced sideways, scanning the environment. "Let's go somewhere private, I have something to show you."

Intrigued by his cautiousness and urgency, Sora put her drink down and followed him, cutting through the chit-chatting crowd and finally stopping at a deserted corner in her kitchen.

"So what is it that you wanted to talk about?" She asked the maroon-haired man.

"After our conversation a few days ago, I couldn't stop thinking about what you said. There more I contemplated, the more illogical this whole thing seemed. Why would Tai suddenly get married? Who is Sumiko? And why would he commit himself to someone else when he's so obviously in love with –" he stopped abruptly, realizing what he was about to say. "Anyway, I can't wrap my head around what his motive could possibly be, so I decided to do some research."

Sora inwardly smirked triumphantly, she knew he couldn't resist.

Izzy was glad that his slip of the tongue went by unnoticed. Skimming his eyes from side to side, he made sure no intruders were eavesdropping. "I went through most of Sumiko's personal folders, and I found something." He searched his pockets.

"It still boggles my mind sometimes how you can hack into someone's personal files just like that," Sora commented.

He grinned at her remark without stopping his frantic search. "I admit, hacking could get complicated at times, but it's not rocket science when it comes to basic systems. You see, controlled access is the key to mitigate security risks. A good security infrastructure should include sufficient physical measures and logical or other technical safeguards such as user identities, passwords, firewalls, and encryption and so on. But in Sumiko's case, her security is assessed to be rather weak seeing that external parties easily have the ability to access her information –"

"Woh woh, slow down there Einstein,"Sora chuckled and held up a hand to interrupt. Izzy often got carried away and a little overexcited when it came to computer-related topics.

"Right, sorry. Ah, found it." The prodigy withdrew a folded piece of paper from his pocket, which he unfolded and held it in front of her face. "Do you know this person?"

She took the sheet from him and inspected it with squinting eyes. "What person? All I see are words. What's this? _How to Attract Women: Triggers of Attraction_ –"

Izzy turned a brilliant shade of crimson at her words and snatched the article back rapidly. "That's just scrap paper I forgot to toss out..." He crumpled the paper and threw it straight into the garbage can. Stuffing a hand in his back pocket and he drew out another sheet, this time showing what appeared to be a photograph. "Here it is."

The redhead examined the color-printed image. "… she looks familiar, it's possible that I may have seen her before but I can't tell for sure. Why, who is this?"

"Her name is Catherine Vaillantcourt, she's a French DigiDestined," he identified.

"What does she have to do anything?"

"She might be the key to why Tai's marrying Sumiko."

This sudden statement took her by surprise. She took a closer look at the girl in the photograph – long blond hair, big blue eyes, cute red Christmas outfit with a matching headband… unmistakably an innocent face of a preteenager no older than fourteen.

"I don't understand, what does a child have to do with Tai's engagement?" This Catherine was unquestionably too young to cause Tai any harm and too old to be his child. Sora failed to come up with other possible associations between the two.

"She's not as young as you think."

Seeing more confusion clouding Sora's face, Izzy decided to explain from the beginning. "Initially, nothing of interest came to my attention when I went through Sumiko's files, until I reached her personal pictures. Most photos were all modelling shoots, but a few folders in particular contained only pictures of this girl, Catherine Vaillantcourt. At first I thought she's just some acquaintance or relative, but as I read the descriptions of the photos and other related documents, they all seemed to be self-describing."

He nodded his head in the direction of the picture in Sora's hands. "This picture, for instance, was found in a folder called 'Christmas at Versailles'. When I read the description something clicked in my head, and I suddenly recalled what Tai and TK told us ages ago. Remember the World Tour we went on? After Tai and TK came back from France, they couldn't stop talking about this cute French DigiDestined they rescued at Versailles."

"But Versailles is one of the most visited attractions in Paris, so there's nothing unusual about Catherine being there around Christmas time," Sora reasoned. "How did you figure out this girl's identity anyway?"

"I was hoping you would ask that." Izzy crossed his arms and leaned against the kitchen counter. "To confirm my suspicion, I looked her up in the DigiDestined database and this girl matched one of Catherine's old profile pictures."

He reached into his pocket and retrieved yet another picture.

Sora wondered how he could fit all these papers in his pockets. But she settled on postponing that question as other priorities were at hand.

"Here's Catherine's newest profile picture," he handed her the photograph.

The designer studied the second snapshot. Catherine's girlish looks had matured into an undeniably beautiful face with well-defined bone structure. Her most striking feature was her large bright eyes, complimented with a straight thin nose and glistening white teeth. Her long blond hair turned into a darker shade. It was odd, the more Sora scrutinized the picture, the more Catherine resembled Sumiko, only less tanned and with lighter features and no makeup….

"Reminds you of anyone in particular?" Izzy asked.

"It can't be…" she said disbelievingly, not tearing her eyes away.

"I know it sounds crazy, but there's a probability."

"So you're suggesting that Sumiko isn't really who she claims to be? She's actually… some French DigiDestined called Catherine?"

"Precisely," Izzy nodded at her assumption. "But I don't know with certainty yet, this is just a hypothetical theory. I'll have to do more research to back up this idea. Sumiko and Catherine could very well be the same person or complete lookalikes, or even twins based on their identical year of birth. If they're not connected, then why would Sumiko have Catherine's pictures on her computer in the first place? There are simply too many coincidences."

Sora was dumbfounded by this astonishing revelation. This was not what she had in mind when she asked Izzy to dig up dirt. "Wow… I don't even know what to say. Why would she lie about her identity? Or is she just trying to create a new persona slash alter ego thing, like Beyoncé and Sasha Fierce?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I would like to know that myself, but I'm afraid I don't know the answers to your questions yet. Until we find out, let's keep this between ourselves, we don't want to start accusing her without any hard evidence. We have to be 100% positive."

Sora bit her bottom lip and nodded in agreement. The last thing she wanted was for her plans to backfire on herself.

"I'll keep you posted on any updates. I guess you better get back to the party, don't want people to think that I kidnapped their host," Izzy suggested.

"You're right, I should get back. By the way, interesting choice of reading," she teased and stuck her tongue out at him. Before he had the chance to redeem himself, she turned around and walked away, leaving him no room for any comeback.

His cheeks flushed once again furiously. "Not everyone was born to be natural pickup artists you know!" He called after her a little louder than intended, earning him a few quizzical looks and fits of giggles from a few girls standing nearby.

'_And that's what you get for helping out a friend_,' he thought sourly.

* * *

><p>"Mimi!"<p>

At the sound of her name, the brunette twirled around to search for the source of the familiar voice. She found herself staring at none other than an old acquaintance. Ex-boyfriend to be exact.

_Michael Washington._

She studied his appearance. He definitely grew taller, several inches since she last saw him. His features, on the other hand, remained more or less the same, especially his trademark long frizzy blond hair.

The American greeted her by pulling her swiftly into his arm and planting a kiss of each of her cheeks. "How are you, beautiful? It's been so long!"

"I'm good and you?" She grinned, returning the embrace and placed her hands on his back.

Gripping the sides of her arms, he pulled away from their hug and examined her. "You look great! I see you let your hair grew back to its natural color, I can't call you pink flamingo anymore."

"But I can still call you Velcro-head," she ruffled his locks friskily. "Still kept your old haircut I see."

"I never changed my style because I know you like my beautiful hair babe," he brushed a hand through his strands and winked at her.

Standing several feet away sipping his drink, Matt tried not to gag at the comment. "Beautiful my ass, it looks more like dead grass," he muttered under his breath.

He looked at the other boy's head, analyzing his so-called hair. What exactly was that? A wig? It was a crime, really. It was so hideous that he should be arrested by the hair police. Had he never heard of _hair conditioner_, for goodness' sake?

"So, are you seeing anyone?" Michael asked the girl in front of him.

"Yeah actually, he's standing right there," she turned around and searched through the crowd. Catching a glimpse of his stylish blond hair, she spotted him by the buffet table and pointed at him.

Matt caught his girlfriend's gaze and saw her motioning for him to walk over. He sighed. Socializing with strangers was not really his thing. Holding his drink in one hand, he shoved the other in his pocket and made his way to the pair.

"This is my boyfriend, Matt. Matt, this is an old friend of mine, Michael," Mimi introduced.

The two men shook hands politely and exchanged brief courtesies.

"Hey man," Matt nodded curtly.

"Nice to meet you Matt," the other boy replied. "So Mimi was telling me that you're training to become an astronaut, how do you like working at JAXA? It must be tough."

"Yeah it is but I can't complain," the blond shrugged. "Being an astronaut is something I've always dreamed of becoming since a kid."

"If I remember correctly from what Mimi told me before, weren't you in a rock band or something?" Michael asked, stealing a quick glance at Mimi.

Matt was impressed by his memory. He himself certainly wouldn't waste brain space on something so trivial about a total stranger. "Yeah I was, but we didn't go far besides school concerts and occasional local gigs. Music will always be a passion of mine, but just not as my professional career."

"I get what you mean," the other boy agreed. "My dad is an actor and for as long as I can remember, he tried relentlessly to get me involved in the show business. Acting is fun and all, but if you don't make it big, then all you'll earn is enough money to breakeven your expenses if you're lucky. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll have to go greet the hostess. I'll catch up with you later," the American beamed at Mimi before walking away.

Matt waited until Michael was a good distance away before addressing Mimi. "I can't believe you used to date him. Weren't you embarrassed to go out with a guy who wears weaves?"

She slapped his arm mischievously. "Don't be mean! Not everyone spends an hour coiffing their hair each day, you know. Even _girls_ don't spend that much time pampering up. You own more hair products than I do, and trust me, it is _not_ something to be proud of."

"You're just jealous that my hair looks better than yours," he sneered cheekily.

Mimi's eyebrows shot up at his proclamation. "I'm seriously starting to question your sexuality… And no it doesn't," she crossed her arms in defiance.

"Why can't a girl just accept the fact that some guys have better hair! The minute they see dudes with nicer hair, girls automatically assume that they're gay, give me a break," he spat dramatically and rolled his eyes.

"Alright, if you really want to prove your point then I'm challenging you to a hair contest with me as your opponent. The loser will have to get a haircut of the winner's choice. I'll come up with the details of the challenge later to set some ground rules."

"Fine by me," he accepted confidently. "You'd better cherish these last days with your hair because very soon you'll have to kiss it goodbye," he smirked maliciously, reaching out a hand to caress a strand of her long hair.

She slapped his arm away and smiled slyly, "Dream on baby, dream on."

* * *

><p>Tai took a deep breath and rang on Sora's doorbell, with Sumiko clutching on his arm tightly. He hadn't spoken to her since the Karaoke incident from the previous night. He wasn't sure what he would say to her, but he mentally pressured himself to be emotionally perfect. Meanwhile he wished his <em>fiancée <em>could release her death grip on him.

He heard footsteps quickly approaching from the other side of the wall, and within seconds the door swung open. Expecting to see his best friend, his body relaxed as he found himself face-to-face with his sister instead.

"Hey Tai," Kari greeted him cheerfully and gave him an affectionate hug, which he returned. She then shifted her gaze to the bride. "Hello Sumiko," she said a little less enthusiastically, offering her a reluctant embrace out of politeness.

"Hi Kari, it's so good to see you," the model chimed sweetly in an exaggerated manner.

"Come on in, everyone's already here. Make yourself home," Kari extended her arm, inviting them to walk in. "I'll go tell Sora that you two are here."

Tai stepped inside Sora's familiar penthouse. The last time that he paid her a visit was months ago. Even though it had been ages, the apartment still looked and smelled the same – fresh and leafy green, like a soccer field with a mild trace of flowery scent, exactly as he remembered. Looking around, he saw multiple small round tables covered in platters and a vast array of food. Some guests spotted him and waved their hands in salutation.

The corner of his eye suddenly caught a glint of red coming his way. He slightly turned his head and spotted his best friend. She was walking on dangerously high stilettos matched with an elegant one-shoulder navy dress, with shiny beads covering the strap and along the neckline. Her slightly curled flaming red hair cascaded down her back, contrasting with the color of her outfit in an intoxicating manner. It was hard not to gawk at her. She was a vision.

"Hey Tai, hi Sumiko," Sora smiled at them warmly and hugged them respectively. "Welcome to my humble abode," she laughed.

They chatted briefly before the rest of the invitees interrupted to offer their congratulations to the engaged couple. For half an hour or so, Tai toured around the living room and caught up with everyone, making small conversation here and there. He was talking to Ken and Yolei when they suddenly heard someone clinking their glass with a knife.

Sora cleared her throat. "Everyone may I have your attention please," she raised her voice.

All the guests momentarily stopped talking and turned their attention to the hostess.

"Now that the main stars of the show have arrived," she looked in Tai's direction, "It's time for some fun and games! The first game we'll be playing is called _Get to Know Your Bride and Groom_. Since you're not familiar with the rules of this event, let me explain them briefly."

"I think the name itself is pretty self-explanatory," interjected Davis. "You ask us questions about Tai and Sumiko and we answer!"

"No shit Sherlock," Yolei rolled her eyes. "Shut up and let Sora finish."

"Thank you Yolei. So as Davis pointed out, since the shower today is held specially to congratulate the soon-to-be wedded couple, all questions will be related to the bride and groom. The bridesmaids and I will be splitting you randomly into three teams, as you can see the three mini podiums near the wall. For obvious reasons, Sumiko and Tai will are not eligible contenders. Each team will take turn in answering a question in a category of their choice. If you answer the question correctly, you will get one point. If you answer the question wrong, you won't lose any point. Each member of the winning team will be rewarded an iTunes gift card of 3,000¥."

"Ooh sounds like Jeopardy!" Mimi exclaimed excitedly.

"What's that?" Joe asked.

"It's a popular American TV show I used to watch when I lived in New York, it's really fun!"

"Now, let's take a look of the categories we have for you today," Sora lifted the drape which covered a large whiteboard, revealing colorful cardboard papers neatly arranged in four distinctive columns. "The four categories are 'Guilty Pleasures', 'Blast from the Past', 'Sports Junkies' and 'Random Questions' Anybody has any question?"

All the guests looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Alright, so let the game begin! Starting with Team #1, please pick your category."

Matt, Joe, Jun and the other three members discussed among themselves briefly. "We'll take 'Guilty Pleasures'."

Sora peeled a paper off the whiteboard and flipped it over. "Tai claims that he cannot stand chick flicks. But in reality, which romantic comedy does he watch secretly when he's depressed?"

"Miss Congeniality," Matt answered with ease.

"That is correct."

As the scorekeeper of the game, Kari drew a line on the whiteboard with her black marker.

Tai blushed at the revelation. "Thanks a lot man."

"Now the second question will be related to Sumiko. Group #2, what's your pick?"

Mimi, Ken, Cody and TK all shrugged, they had just met Sumiko. One of Sumiko's friends however squealed, "We'll pick 'Blast from the Past'."

A bridesmaid tore a post-it from the board. "What is the name of Sumiko's imaginary childhood friend?"

"La… Lara," a girl with round glasses stuttered shyly.

"I'm afraid that is incorrect, the answer is Flora."

"…Oh, I'm sorry," the girl lowered her head and apologized.

"It's ok it's just a game, you don't have to apologize," TK smiled warmly at her and patted her on the back.

"Moving on to the third question. Team #3, your pick please," Sora addressed the people standing at the third podium.

Yolei, Michael, Izzy and Davis were among the members. "'Random Questions'," Izzy said.

Sora peered at the question in her hand and smirked. "Tai claims that this is the most exotic yet disgusting food he's ever eaten. Name that food."

"If I'm not mistaken, I believe Tai once talked about eating pig brain," Izzy answered.

"Correct."

Davis's face scrunched up in disgust. "Gross! Why would you eat that? It's like eating… stupidity!"

A few people laughed at his comparison.

The game carried on for thirty more minutes as the teams became more competitive. Tired of his sitting position, Tai decided to step outside the balcony for some fresh air.

Noticing this, Sora asked Kari to temporarily take over the questions and followed Tai outside.

Carefully sliding the balcony door closed behind her, she spotted him hunching over the railings. "Tai are you okay?"

He looked up. "Yeah I just needed some fresh air," he smiled at her reassuringly. "The shower is amazing, and even though I'm not a woman, I have to say I'm very impressed. Thank you for doing this Sor."

"It doesn't take much to impress you," she laughed. "But you're welcome."

"You look beautiful, by the way."

His complement took her by surprise. A faint blush swept across her face. "Thanks, you don't look too bad yourself," she responded, studying his well fitted suit and white dress shirt, with the first few buttons undone.

"So how have you been lately? Busy with your upcoming collection?" He asked. It had been a while since they had a real conversation.

She walked up next to him and leaned her back against the railings. "Yeah, as usual. But ever since I became your maid of honor I took your advice and delegated responsibilities to my subordinates."

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Don't overwork your poor minions."

"I do not treat them like minions!" She spat indignantly. "And even if I do it's all because of you! If they ever go on strike or quit, I'll personally hold you liable for all damages and financial losses incurred," she poked his shoulder playfully.

He touched the spot where she poked him. "You know, for such a petite frame you're freakishly strong."

She poked him a few more times for the heck of it.

"Oww!"

She chuckled at his feigned yelp of pain. What a weakling. "So enough about me, today should be all about you and Sumiko. Are you excited that your big day is quickly approaching?"

"I guess so." He looked away, staring into the overview of the city. Feeling her searching gaze boring into the side of his head, he inwardly reproached himself for replying so indifferently. He really should improve on his dubious acting as of lately. "All this planning is draining me of all strength," he quickly added, trying to cover up.

Alert by his sudden seriousness, Sora could tell he was lying and trying to fool everyone. If only he knew what a horrible liar he was, she knew him better than anyone else. Izzy's new trail did not help appease her suspicions.

"Listen Tai, there's something I've been meaning to tell you."

"Hmm? What is it?"

She took a deep breath for what she was about to say next. "You should call this wedding off."

His head snapped back to look at her. "What?"

"You should call this wedding off," she repeated, more resolutely. "As your best friend and maid of honor, it's my duty to tell you that you're marrying an insufferable cow who will only make your life miserable."

He furrowed his brow. "Why? What makes you say that? I thought you two were getting along?"

"The first impression I had of her was already bad – self-centered, possessive, condescending… but I thought I was being too harsh and judged her too quickly. But the more I talked to her and got to know her, honestly the less I like her. What do you see in her Tai, besides that she's beautiful?"

"She may seem unbearable to people who don't know her but really, she's actually really nice."

"Not from what I can see it anyway. Every time you two are together, she either snaps at you or bosses you around. You were our leader in the Digital World Tai, if there's one thing I know about you is that you hate being bossed around. So what are you hiding from us?"

Tai remained silent.

She didn't buy a word he said earlier so she pushed on, "I can see that you're unhappy, it's in your eyes."

"Like I said, I'm just tired with all the wedding planning lately," he shrugged.

"Stop lying to yourself."

"I'm not lying to anyone okay! Is it that hard to believe that I met someone and fell in love?" He balked.

"No Tai, under any other circumstances it's not, but she's not your type and we both know it, which makes what you're saying a little hard to believe."

"Well Matt wasn't your type either, but I never questioned you when you went out with him, did I?"

They were staring daggers at each other, anger rapidly rising from their heated argument fuelled by supressed feelings.

"That was ages ago, I was young and inexperienced in life, I was just experimenting. How can you compare some foolish meaningless teenage relationship with a lifetime commitment? I don't think you realize how serious this is, Tai. I have a sixth sense about this girl, she's bad news."

"So it's okay for you to experiment but not for me? I get that you're just trying to look out for me, Sor, but maybe it's time for you to trust my judgement and stop acting like my mother," he rebuked irritably. "I'm not eleven anymore, I'm a grown man and I can do whatever I want with my life, so stop spewing crazy ideas."

_Spewing crazy ideas?_ Sora couldn't help but feel hurt at his choice of words. Was that how he really felt, when she genuinely cared about him? However, not wanting to make a scene in front of everyone, she decided to ignore his words by burying her thoughts.

"Fine, whatever. You know what, pretend I didn't say anything. Congratulations on finding the girl of your dreams," she said calmly and looked away.

Tai was in agony, tormented by the burden of his secret. His heart ached in despair, yet he felt powerless like a coward. He wished he could tell her everything, he hated lying to her, but telling her the truth would destroy her. Instead, he did what he had been doing a lot lately.

He clamped his mouth shut and said nothing.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Are you guys more confused than ever? So I completely made up Catherine's last name… I tried googling it without success, oh well. And kudos to everyone who correctly identified the mysterious girl from last chapter as Catherine! Many of you have been wondering what secret Tai's hiding, I'm afraid it won't be revealed any time soon, although I will be dropping more clues from now on. If you have any guesses I would love to hear them, who knows I might leave you a spoiler or two ;) And thanks again for your support, it really means a lot!

**xcandydots**: I know right! I'll never understand what went through the writers' mind… and thank you for reading this!

**miglukee**: Thank you, I'm glad you like it :)

**WileyLove**: I'm not sure what Matt's role in the story is yet, but that's a good idea. Thanks for your review!

**Melodisz**: Thank you :D Sorry I haven't sent anything to you lately, I feel that my updates are way too slow so I don't want to postpone any longer. Just want you to know that I haven't forgotten about my Beta ;)

**Skye-Excalibur**: Sorry I made you wait… again! I promise I'll work on my speed from now on. And thanks for pointing out the typo, good eye!

**Tamer of the Zero Unit**: Thank you for reviewing every chapter, it really means a lot!

**berrylicious**: Thank you so much for the compliment! I always thought my characterization really sucks, but I'm glad you like it!

**Taiora-AAML-Serena-Darien**: Good job on picking up the clues, and the first one too :D

**Antrxx**: Unfortunately I'm not really good at writing action scenes, so this story will only have mentions of the Digimon (I don't want to ruin anything!), but things may change if I get ideas to fit them in the story!

**taiorafan**: Sorry if the Taiora moment wasn't long or romantic, but that will eventually change ;)

**Vigatus**: Wow living in Japan must have been a really memorable experience, so did you bring a lot of cool electronic gadgets back home? Luckily you weren't close to Tohoku when the earthquake and tsunami hit. It must've still been traumatizing…

**AquaGuardian**: Catherine will definitely be playing a big role, and not a good one!

**TaioraWarrior**: Yup Catherine is the girl Tai and TK kissed, it's funny how she had a really small role but she's in so many fics. Honestly I don't really remember her myself and I had to rewatch the WorldTour episode before writing her into this chapter. And sorry for the late update!

**Squit Ayumin**: I was so stoked when I saw your reviews, I couldn't believe it, it's such an honor! Thank you for your reviews, they made my day and I laughed at your little outburst, haha :p As for JAXA, I randomly typed 'Japanese astronaut' on Google and voilà, I honestly had no idea prior to that!

**Digi Yo**: Thanks for your review! I love those couples too!


	7. Robes

A/N: Has it been a month already? Sorry for the long wait! With the finals coming up and everything, I really wish there were more hours in a day. Anyway, thank you all for reading and reviewing, your continuous support means a lot!

* * *

><p><em><span>Chapter 7 – Robes<span>_

"Fine, whatever. You know what, pretend I didn't say anything. Congratulations on finding the girl of your dreams."

Sora almost instantly regretted the words that poured out of her mouth. She knew she had crossed the line by acting so judgemental and inexplicably irritable. Sighing in defeat, she waited for Tai to retort and defend the supposedly love of his life, but to her surprise he looked away and said nothing at all.

The silent treatment only aggravated her growing guilt.

Maybe direct confrontation wasn't the best idea to convince him. She would need to find another way to prove her point without offending him personally.

"I'm sorry Tai. You're right, it's not my place to tell you who to marry and what to do with your life," she said in a small voice without looking at him. "I don't know what came over me. It's just that I think you deserve someone better than Sumiko."

Upon hearing her own words, the redhead bit her lower lip and inwardly reprimanded herself for her lame apology. Without realizing it, she had insulted his girlfriend _again_. Way to go, Sora.

Tai shook his head. "No, it's okay. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I know you're just trying to look out for me, like you always do. I would do the same for you if one day you decide to marry someone who seems like a douchebag."

She smiled ruefully and looked down at her shoes.

He gave her a reassuring pat on the back. "So don't worry about it, no hard feelings. I know you're just being a good friend."

_Friend_. Sometimes she hated that term. That was probably all she would ever be to him, his good old pal.

"You know," he said seriously, "If you don't want to be my maid of honor anymore you can just tell me. I understand that it's not always easy to work with someone you don't like. So if you don't want to do it, I can just ask Kari."

"Whoever said anything about you finding a replacement for me? Besides, what kind of crappy best friend would I be if I ditch you three weeks before your wedding?"

"Just making sure, don't want to force you into doing anything you don't want to." He raised his left forearm and checked the watch on his wrist. "I think we should go back inside before everyone thinks we got kidnapped."

"Yeah, let's go," she agreed and trailed behind him.

Upon returning back to the living room, Sora noticed that a smug look was plastered on Davis' face, who was holding a gift card.

"Guess who won the game?" He bragged smugly, flashing Sora the prize in his hand. "I guess I know Tai the best!"

His childish behaviour caused her to laugh. He reminded her so much of a younger Tai sometimes.

She walked next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "You didn't disappoint your idol I see!"

Tai grinned and went to stand by Davis' other side. "Yeah, I'm proud of you kid," he ruffled the younger boy's hair.

"Stop stealing other people's credit, Davis. _Izzy_ answered most of the questions," Kari interjected, rolling her eyes, "Especially the ones regarding Sumiko. Speaking of which, how come you know her so well, Izzy? I thought you never met her before?"

"Yeah seriously," Yolei agreed with a frown. "Some of those questions were pretty tough too, like her hometown and birthday. How did you know that she was born in Paris on June 15?"

"Paris was just a wild guess," he lied, scratching the back of his head. "And I remember vaguely that Tai mentioned her birthday once. It was pure luck that I got those answers right."

"Pure luck and an exceptional memory," Sora added quickly.

"Oh… If I didn't know any better, I would think that you're her stalker or something," Yolei joked. A few others nodded their heads in agreement.

He fidgeted nervously and laughed. "Like I'm that creepy and don't have a life of my own."

"So anyone up for mini fruit tarts?" Sora asked, trying to change the subject. She caught the computer genius sending her a thankful glance.

"Ooh I'm in the mood for some!" Davis clapped his hands together enthusiastically.

Yolei shook her head. "There he goes, raiding the food again."

While the group harassed Davis on his appetite, Kari seized the opportunity to speak to Sora.

"Hey Sora, I forgot to ask you something."

"Yes Kari?"

"Are you free tomorrow night?"

She looked at the younger Kamiya skeptically. "I'm not sure yet but why? Are you organizing another karaoke thing?" Sora secretly hoped not. The last time was disastrous, not to mention utterly embarrassing.

"Do you really think I'm that lame to plan the same activity twice in the same week?" Kari quirked an eyebrow, placing her hands on her waist.

"So what do you have in mind?"

"Remember that cute guy I talked to you about? He keeps asking me about you, he really wants to meet you."

"What cute guy? You mean that blind date you were trying to set me up with a few days ago?"

"Yeah, he keeps asking me about you. He said he feels bad for not being able to show up the other night so he wants to make it up to you."

"I don't know, blind dating is not really my cup of tea."

"Well you can't say no, because I already told him you're free. I gave him your address too, he's coming to pick you up at 6:00 p.m. tomorrow," Kari smiled innocently.

"What? You can't do that!" The redhead objected, appalled at the idea of some stranger showing up randomly at her doorstep.

"Well I did, so have fun on your blind date!"

"Wait, call him and cancel –"

"The guests are calling, gotta go!" Kari ran off before Sora had a chance to protest, a malicious smirk dancing across her lips.

* * *

><p>Mimi scribbled down the last rule on the contract she prepared for her bet. Reviewing the list of rules one last time, she found nothing missing or requiring adjustments.<p>

She walked up to Matt and handed him the piece of paper. "Here, sign this. I came up with some terms and agreements for our bet," she instructed, satisfied with her work.

"You're making this so official," he took the paper from her hand and scanned though it. "Only unconfident people set up stupid rules as a defense for harmless bets like this. Deep down you know you don't stand a chance against me, don't you? Too bad, because this piece of paper won't save you from losing."

"Just read it, will you?" She snapped impatiently. "And for your information this contract is to prevent you from backing out from this, because the loser will most definitely be _you_, blondie."

"What are you guys doing?" Davis barged into their conversation, holding three mini fruit tarts in his hands.

Matt looked at the younger boy, who had whipped cream smeared all over his lips and chin. "We're making a bet and for the love of God, wipe your mouth after you eat!"

Davis grumbled under his breath and went to grab a napkin at the closest table.

"Did we hear someone say 'bet'?" Kari asked and joined the couple, followed by the rest of their friends.

"Yes you heard right," Mimi confirmed. "Matt thinks his has nicer hair than me so I challenged him to a little competition."

Izzy buried his face in his palm and shook his head. "I knew this day would come… why am I friends with them again?"

The couple both glared at him simultaneously.

"What kind of competition? Like you get people to vote or something?" Joe asked.

"Pretty much," Mimi answered. "Matt and I have to individually pick and showcase our best hairstyles, then we'll get our panel of judges, meaning you guys, to decide the winner. Of course, there will be several criteria that will serve as a basis for your evaluations."

"What criteria can you possibly establish to critique _hair_?" Ken asked with a raised eyebrow. "Like who has softer hair?"

"Precisely, softness is one of the evaluation components. Other elements include quality of hair, volume, strength, use of hair products, creativity of the style etc. You'll all be given an evaluation sheet with the complete list of components as well as the score allocation of each element."

"What do you mean quality of hair?" Cody asked. "I thought people only use that term for wigs and weaves, like synthetic quality hair versus human quality hair."

"Well in our case we're talking about split ends, hair shininess, tangled hair and so on," Matt explained.

"Right…" Yolei muttered, secretly think that Matt should've been a hair stylist instead of an astronaut.

"So anyway, Matt, read those rules I wrote," Mimi ordered.

The blonde rolled his eyes. "Fine. Rule number one," he read her writing out loud, "no haircuts allowed before or during the challenge."

"Fair enough," Kari commented.

"Rule number two: no hair dyes, extensions or perms allowed. Yeah ok, like I'll be needing those," he scoffed sarcastically. "Rule number three: external help and consultation are prohibited. Seriously Mimi, do you think we're on a TV show or something? This is just a stupid bet."

"It won't be so stupid anymore when it'll be time for you to face your punishment."

"That won't be a concern," he stated confidently. "Rule number four: immediate family members are not eligible to be on the panel due to potential biased opinions."

Mimi turned her head in the direction of the younger boy. "So, TK's off the list."

TK frowned, crossing his arms. "Hey that's not fair! Why do I get to be a spectator only?"

"Whatever, I'll beat you anyway with or without my lil' bro's vote," Matt shrugged confidently. "So let this be a handicap to you."

"Why, you arrogant prick! You know what, I changed my mind. TK, ignore what I just said, you're back on the panel."

"Alright!" He cheered, pumping a fist in the air.

"Rule number five: if this contract is waived without any apparent or justifiable reason, the violating party will be assumed to have forfeited. The repercussion for the violating party will be the same as the original punishment," Matt finished reading the final rule.

Mimi clapped her hands together. "Okay, now the list of judges. We have Izzy, Joe, Kari, TK, Davis, Yolei, Cody, Ken and Michael. We'll leave Sora and Tai out of this because of their busy schedules. Did I miss anyone?"

"Do I really have to do this? I have a busy schedule too," Izzy asked, evidently uninterested at their topic. He had other more important projects in mind, projects involving a certain mysterious French DigiDestined.

Mimi was about to answer when Matt cried out indignantly. "_Michael_? As in the Michael I just met? You're kidding right? Michael can't be part of this list, I object!"

"And why is that?" Mimi asked.

"I think it's quite obvious that we can't rely on his judgement, I mean just look at his hair! It's like asking Donald Trump to give hair advice to Beyoncé."

"Who's Donald Trump?" Davis frowned.

"Urgh, nevermind. But no Michael!" Matt insisted firmly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Mimi drawled. "Let that be a handicap to _you_. As for the rest of you, come to our apartment this Sunday. Don't forget, or you'll miss the show of your life!"

* * *

><p>Standing behind the bride-to-be, Sora caught Sumiko's reflection off the full-length mirror. It was wedding dress shopping and alterations day with Sumiko. Or was it <em>Catherine<em>? She wasn't even sure anymore. Izzy's revelation that Sumiko might be concealing her identity and pretending to be someone else had not only created a lot of confusion, but it shocked her to the core.

Sumiko was _definitely_ hiding something.

There was no doubt about that now. Too many signs pointed to her suspiciousness.

"How do I look?" Sumiko ran a hand over the front of her dress, smoothing away any creases or folds.

Sora snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the girl in front of her. As expected, the model looked like a goddess, like the epitome of beauty. But Sora refused to give her that satisfaction. "The dress looks okay," she shrugged nonchalantly.

Sumiko twirled around in her elegant gown gracefully. "Just _okay_? 'Okay' wouldn't do, I need to look spectacular. Maybe this isn't the right dress," she scowled and walked back into the fitting room for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Sora couldn't help but to smirk evilly in triumph. Something so exquisite didn't deserve to be worn by someone as unworthy as Sumiko. '_Serves her right for always being a cow to me_,' she thought without the slightest shred of remorse.

At least she was thankful that Sumiko didn't ask _her_ to design her gown. Sora didn't think she would be able to stomach the idea of designing a wedding gown for Tai's bride out of all people.

With nothing else better to do, the redhead walked around the shop, sifting through different racks of gowns. She was determined to pick out the most hideous gown and ask Sumiko to try it on. She had no idea where this sudden rush of immaturity came from but quite frankly, she was enjoying it.

Sora examined the first gown on hung neatly on the rack. It was a mermaid-style strapless ivory dress – too chic. Next came a strapless gown with asymmetrical back bows and hand cut corsage – too extravagant. The third one was an A-line sleeveless organza gown with pale nude tiered origami dress – too sophisticated.

All these dresses were too damn _gorgeous_.

As she continued sorting through the gowns, the ringtone of her cellphone suddenly went off. Gliding her thumb across the touchscreen, she unlocked it. "Hello?" she answered.

"Hey sweetheart, how's my little girl doing?" exclaimed her father's voice on the other line.

"Dad! How are you?"

"I'm good, how are you? Your mother and I haven't heard anything from you for a while."

"Yeah I'm sorry about that, I've been busy lately," she replied, holding her cellphone in one hand while the other continued pushing through different dresses. Strapless mikado gown with swirling flange skirt and a huge black bow in front – weird, but not ugly enough.

"The last thing I want is for my daughter to turn into a workaholic like me," he said worriedly.

"What's wrong with being a workaholic? I'd like to think of myself as driven and ambitious. Without those traits I'd never be where I am today, especially not in this this mad dog-eat-dog world we called workplace," she defended herself.

"Alright, just don't overwork yourself, dear." He wasn't persuaded but decided to drop the topic for now. "Anyway, this week I have a conference at Tokyo, so I thought I might drop by your apartment to pay you a visit. Is that okay with you?"

"Of course! Just give me a call when you'll be in town," she responded happily. Finally, the first piece of good news since a long time.

"Great. I'll stop bothering you then, see you in a few days! I miss you."

"Miss you too, dad," she replied sincerely before hanging up. Meanwhile, her right hand paused at the perfect dress.

_Bingo._

A dipping V-neck loose nightgown-like satin robe, with what seemed like an oversized sheath slash shawl material draping awkwardly over the shoulders and sleeves. As if that wasn't bizarre enough already, the sheath was covered by big, random blotches of fur. It looked like something designed for a science-fiction movie, or one of those ghastly dresses that could top the list of fashion disasters. Its hideousness assessment on a scale of ten would easily be a nine.

A classic example of fashion inspiration turned into desperation.

Sora sniggered delightedly at the mere thought of the model trying this repulsive… _thing_ on. As she giggled discreetly to herself, the curtain of the fitting room was pulled open, revealing Sumiko in an attractive tight long gown with a giant flower adorning the corsage.

"Who were you talking to?" The model asked.

Although she thought it was really none of her business, Sora answered her anyway. "It was my father, he wants to come to Tokyo to visit me this week."

"Oh… that's nice," the other girl replied indifferently, walking towards the full -length mirror.

For a split of a second, Sora thought she saw Sumiko's mood changed. She suddenly looked stern and… angry? Sora guessed that the model's mood swing was probably caused by her frustration to find the right gown.

"Do you find this one pretty?" Sumiko asked, pointing at her current outfit.

The designer motioned for her to turn around in a full circle. "It's alright, but it's missing the 'wow' factor," she commented. "I'm sure you don't want to look like just another bride, do you?"

"I guess not…"

"Getting married is a once in a lifetime event, a memory you'll cherish for the rest of your life. So to make the most out of it, you gotta pick a gown that's _memorable_."

"So what do you suggest?"

Sora held out the dress she found. "I found us a winner. Here, I think you should try this on."

Sumiko looked at the gown in question and grimaced. "Eww, what is this? It looks terrible!" She cried in disgust, pointing at the blotches of fur.

"Trust me, it's the latest trend. Fashion is my career, so I would know what's in and what's not."

"I don't think it's my size, it looks a bit big…"

"That's why we're here for dress-fitting alterations."

"I don't know, it's not really what I had in mind…"

"Are you doubting the expert?" Sora raised her eyebrows. "Come on, just try it on and we'll see."

Failing to come up with another retort, Sumiko took the dress and headed back to the fitting room once more.

Sora snickered.

This turned out to be more fun than she expected.

* * *

><p>Throwing on a simple purple blouse, matched with a pair of skinny jeans and low pumps, Sora went for the casual look. She refused to dress up for a date that was set up without her consent.<p>

Moreover, she was still too dejected to date someone, especially when her love interest was getting married in three weeks. She knew Kari only meant well, but the timing was all wrong. At this point she much preferred to be curled up in front of her television with a bucket of ice cream, rather than going on a _blind date_.

Urgh. It made her feel pathetic and desperate.

She didn't want to be involved with just _any _guy.

The only thought that cheered her up was seeing Sumiko in that awful dress. Even a beauty queen like her couldn't pull it off. She looked like an oversized bird with bald spots. Boy did that make her day.

A sudden buzzing sound alarmed her that her date had arrived. _Great_. She reached the intercom and pressed the 'speak' button.

"Hello?" She spoke into the intercom.

"Hi Sora?" A masculine voice responded.

"That's me," she confirmed her identity.

"Hi, I'm Willis, Kari's friend. I'm here to pick you up for our, uh, date," he announced awkwardly.

"Right, hold on, I'll be down in a second!"

She fetched her angès b. bag and dashed out the door, heading straight to the elevators.

When she reached the front entrance of her high-rise condo building, she spotted a tall blonde who reminded her strangely of TK – short golden hair, pale skin and bright blue eyes, except this guy had a pointier chin and bigger eyes. He wore a black shirt with a skinny dark grey Burberry tie, matched with dark dress pants. Overall, sleek and sophisticated, yet not too formal.

She wasn't going to lie, he was good looking.

It made her self-conscious of her own attire. She was undeniably underdressed. He would surely be disappointed. He hadn't noticed her yet, so technically she still had time to head back upstairs and change, but she was honestly not really into this date. The faster it was over the better.

She opened the door and walked up to him. "Hi, you must be Willis. I'm Sora," she introduced herself, extending her hand.

He shook her hand and flashed her a charming smile. "Nice to meet you, Sora. Kari told me all about you."

"Did she?"

"Even if she didn't, you'd have to be living under a rock to have never heard of the famous designer Sora Takenouchi. You're like a celebrity here, I always see you on newspapers and TV!"

"Nah, some people may have heard of my name," she shrugged it off, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks, "but half of them have no idea what I look like."

"And she's modest too," he stated, making Sora even more embarrassed. "I have to admit though, I was a little surprised when Kari asked me if I wanted to go on a blind date with you. I didn't think you'd be single."

"Yeah…"

"So what do you want to do tonight?" He asked, cleverly avoiding the awkward silence.

"I'm open to anything, it's up to you."

"Do you fancy Indian cuisine?" He offered, leading her to the way where his car was parked.

"Are you kidding? I love Indian food!"

"Great, because I made reservations at Ashoka."

"How did you guess that I like Indian cuisine?"

"Actually I also made reservations at five other restaurants," he confessed, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I didn't know what you like, so I made extra reservations at French, Italian, Chinese, Mexican and traditional Japanese restaurants as well."

She laughed. "What if I said I already ate?"

"Then I'd be screwed because I don't have any other back-up plans," he chuckled.

He unlocked his black Audi and opened the door for her. She got in the passenger seat and buckled her belt. Meanwhile, she wondered how someone with such a nice car would even go on blind dates. With his attractive appearance and apparent wealth, surely plenty of plenty of women would literally throw themselves on him. It would surprise her if he wasn't a ladies' man.

After twenty minutes, they arrived Ashoka. The restaurant was neat and spacious, with burgundy carved wood chairs and thick carpets. Incense perfumes filled the air, adding to the authenticity feel of the Indian décor.

Once they were seated and that their drinks were served, Sora ordered Tandoori chicken for herself, while Willis picked Goan fish curry.

For the rest of the evening, they chatted animatedly about everything, from jobs to past relationships to childhood memories. She learned that they shared two common friends: Davis and Mimi. She also learned that he lived in New York City, just like Mimi. What a small world.

Sora had to admit despite her initial indifference, she actually ended up having a good time. Not only was Willis easy on the eye, but his overall personality was very decent.

Nonetheless, even though she liked his positive attributes and she was undeniably attracted to him, he wasn't what she wanted.

He wasn't Tai.

* * *

><p>While Sora excused herself and headed to the ladies' washroom, Willis used that time to check the text messages received on his phone. One new SMS from Kari.<p>

'_So did you meet Sora? Please tell me she showed up for your date._'

'_Yeah, she did. We're now eating at Ashoka,' _he typed and hit 'send'.

Within a few seconds, a new alert notified another message from her.

'_Glad you took my advice, she adores Indian cuisine. Good to know that I can rely on your services.'_

He smirked knowingly. Pressing the 'reply' option, he quickly typed his response.

'_You pay your fees, I play my part. Satisfaction guaranteed or you'll get you money back. You'll see results in no time.'_

At the other side of the city, Kari grinned at the message on her phone.

Hiring Willis turned out to be a good idea after all. Granted he wasn't single, but his part-time 'Rent-a-Date/Boyfriend' business had earned him quite a reputation.

Kari still couldn't get over how her karaoke plan had failed miserably. Stupid Tai. Luckily, she had one more trick up her sleeve.

_The jealousy card._

If the idea of Sora dating the perfect guy would not trigger some kind of reaction out of Tai, then nothing else would.

* * *

><p>Thanks again for reading! I would also like thank the following reviewers:<p>

**xcandydots**, **Tamer of the Zero Unit** (I liked your questions :P), **blueberrykisses** (wow thank you so much! I'm extremely flattered!), **Antrxx**, **Vigatus**, **Squit Ayumin**, **Skye-Excalibur**, **miglukee**, **Digi Yo**, **Mimato love**, **Orane** (wow thank you!), **TaioraWarrior** (nice guesses, but you're right no evil Digimon!), **berrylicious** (I love your reference to the song :p), **Night Neko-Jin**, **noir95**

You guys are fabulous! THANK YOU!


	8. Identity

Hey all! Sorry for the incredibly long delay, I had a huge writer's block and with everything else that was happening in life, I had little time to write :( On a brighter note, as long as my laptop won't crash, this story will be completed. And now that I got some of the major plot lines sorted out, the next update shouldn't take as long. Also, a big thank you to anyone who has taken an interest in this fic, as well as the following reviewers for their kind words:

_**To Love Is To Destroy**_, _**Mimato love 4ever**_, _**Jmeb0430**_, _**Digi Yo**_, _**Skye-Excalibur**_, _**Vigatus**_, _**Countrygirl19**_, _**WileyLove**_, _**blueberrykisses**_, _**xAsClicheAsItCanBe**_, _**Antrxx**_, _**Ezio Uchiha**_, _**berrylicious**_, _**miglukee**_, _**Shego-Go**_, _**Tamer of the Zero Unit**_, _**TaioraWarrior**_, _**Squit Ayumin**_, _**nerdxx3**_, _**Missylea**_

Your comments brighten my day :)

* * *

><p><em>Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or its characters, nor do I claim ownership of the songs, brands, products logos etc. mentioned in this story.<em>

* * *

><p><em><span>Chapter 8 – Identity<span>_

Izzy covered both his ears with his pillow groggily, in a weak attempt block out the rumbling noise of construction outside his window. To his dismay, his effort came to no avail. He stirred his is bed and groaned in annoyance. Construction workers should be _fired_ for working on Sunday mornings and rudely disturbing the quiet neighbourhood. Couldn't people enjoy some peace on a lazy Sunday after a week of hard work? Except today was Monday. His eyes shot wide open to the realization.

Monday. Work. Need to wake up.

Still in his sleepy state of mind, the maroon-haired man couldn't understand why his alarm failed to ring. Looking immediately at the clock siting on his night table, the handles indicated that it was 2:43 a.m. This could only mean one thing: the alarm clock's battery died last night and he was most probably running late for work.

_Shit._

His drowsy mind instantly snapped awake into full panic mode. He stumbled quickly out of bed, grabbed a random set of clothes within his reach and rushed into the bathroom, knocking his foot against a table on the way. Hopping on one foot, he yelped in pain and swore under his breath, cursing his nearly nonexistent pain threshold.

Forty minutes later, Izzy finally made it to work at precisely 10:26 a.m. He barged through the doors and headed straight to his cubicle. Dumping his briefcase on the table, he slumped into his chair and quickly switched on his computer. To his relief, everybody in the lab seemed to be too busy to notice his tardiness.

As he began working on an unfinished report, an alert popped up from the right corner of his computer screen, notifying that one new email had been received in his personal email. He knew he wasn't supposed to read personal emails during work hours, but upon seeing the sender's name, he instantly clicked on it with great anticipation.

Finally, the message he had been waiting for all week.

_To: Tento_

_From: Ares_

_RE: Catherine V._

_Tento,_

_Attached is the information you requested. Let me know if you need anything else._

_A. _

Ares was a hacker friend of his from France. Just like Tento was Izzy's alias as a hacker, Ares was a code name as well. The two had never physically met each other, but since they were both members of an exclusive elite hacker organization, most of the members within the group are virtually acquainted with each other.

Izzy never expected his background search on Sumiko would become so extensive. But with less than three weeks to Tai's wedding, desperate times called for desperate measures. With no better alternatives in mind, he decided to bend the rules a little by illegally accessing sensitive protected personal information. That was when he contacted Ares, someone who had easier access to French public records, for assistance. He asked his friend to conduct a thorough background check on Catherine Vaillancourt, without disclosing the reason behind this investigation. Knowing Ares' proficient skills, compiling biographical data on an ordinary French citizen should be a piece of cake for him.

The computer prodigy downloaded and the encrypted file and opened it within seconds. The document contained a twenty-page report on Catherine Vaillancourt, including several exhibits and appendices at the end.

_Prodigious._

Upon preliminary examination, the quality of the report appeared nothing short of professional – well-structured, concise and relevant, with neat headings and subheadings clearly identifying the different areas of the research. He scrolled back up to the first page and began reading the document with growing impatience.

The first few pages described Catherine's early life. She was born in Lyon and moved to Paris with her family at the age of four. The French was raised as an only child by middle-class parents. Two years ago, she graduated from the University of Paris with a Bachelor of Arts in Japanese Language and Literature.

Izzy knitted his brow. Catherine's education just confirmed his suspicions on her identity.

The next section focused on her involvement in the Digital World. Catherine's Digimon was Floramon. Nothing much was of interest there, except that they were once captured by Mamemon in Versailles. Now that Izzy thought about it, he suddenly remembered Tai and TK talking about that incident a long time ago.

The third segment expanded on her family situation. Catherine's mother was an accounts receivable clerk at a local company. Again, nothing peculiar. Izzy continued scrolling down the page until one paragraph caught his attention.

_Father:__ François Vaillancourt_

_Status:__ Married_

_Employment History Highlight:__ Information Technology Auditor at PWSee from 1998-2005_

_Legal History:__ Currently in prison serving a ten-year sentence for a cybercrime committed. Convicted in 2005 for "fraudulent suppression and modification of unauthorized data into PWSee's automated data processing system"._

Cybercrime?

Izzy had never met François Vaillancourt, yet somehow, his instinct was telling him that it was not as black and white as it appeared. Regardless, one question remains: what did Tai have to do with any of this?

* * *

><p>"So how was your date with Sora?" Kari asked the accomplice she hired sitting in front of her.<p>

"Great," Willis replied casually, leaning back against his chair. "She seemed a little reluctant at first, but she eventually warmed up to my charm and charisma. I think she rather enjoyed my company," he said smugly.

"Oh? What makes you think that she did?"

"What makes you think that she didn't?" He retorted quickly, feeling defensive.

"Relax, I'm not doubting your womanizing skills or anything," Kari assured him, before he'd misunderstand and think that she was purposely trying to hurt his ego. "It's just that Sora usually hates going on blind dates, so I'm really surprised that she actually agreed to have dinner with you. I expected her to pretend she wasn't home or whatever lame excuses she usually uses."

"Hmm, didn't have that problem. She answered the doorbell right away," the blond shrugged. "And like I said earlier, even though she was a bit hesitant at first, we ended up having a great time. She's easy to talk to, nice, and very down-to-earth. And did I mention that she looks a lot prettier in person than on that picture you showed me?"

"Well well, sounds like somebody has got the hots for their client," Kari joked, shaking her index finger and head simultaneously in a disapproving manner.

"Nah, I'm just thankful that my assignment is decent looking. Once I was paid to go on a date with this unkempt girl with really greasy and dirty hair, it looked like she didn't own any shampoo or something. Then when she smiled, apparently she didn't own a toothbrush either." He grimaced in disgust, shuddering at the unpleasant memory. "You know what the worst part was? She kissed me on the lips out of the blue, it was so sudden that I didn't even have time to dodge! I would much rather kiss a toilet seat than her…"

Kari chuckled at his appalled expression. "Yeah right! I'd like to see that! So why didn't you just decline the job?"

"Because I was stupid enough to have accepted the job without even thinking of checking her out first," Willis sighed at his own carelessness.

"Wait a minute… So that's why you made me show you Sora's picture! You were _screening_ her looks first?" The younger Kamiya asked in disbelief.

"Oh come on, after that horrible experience, I had to make it my utmost priority to screen my assignments first," he defended. "I bet you would too if you were in my shoes."

Kari crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow without saying anything.

"What? Stop looking at me like that! I wouldn't want to be making out with someone who just crawled out of the sewer, would I? I know I'm getting paid for my services, but still! Everyone has limits…"

She looked at him bemusedly with her arms still crossed. "I didn't say anything."

"Anyway, back to the topic on Sora and your brother," he said more seriously, "I've seen and dealt with this kind of scenario a few times before. The whole 'best friends in love with each other yet blinded by their obliviousness' thing is nothing new. All it takes is an extra little push to make them confront their feelings."

"I hope your tactics will work before time runs out," the kindergarten teacher replied. "Sora's a tough cookie, once she's got her mind fixated on something or an idea, she's stubborn as a mule. I've been trying to get them together for years and nothing ever worked." She exhaled in despair, thinking of her unsuccessful karaoke plan.

"Don't worry, my success rate is a hundred percent. I've never failed a client before. Except that sewer girl of course," he reassured her. "If my plan fails, then I'll give you your money back."

"I don't care about the money," she responded with slight annoyance, although it did cost her a small fortune. "I just want your plan will be executed in time before Tai exchanges vows with that annoying model of his."

"The wedding's in three weeks right? You'll see results in no time. I promise you that by the end of this week, your brother will be having second thoughts on this whole marriage thing."

"Hm… I hope you're right," Kari remarked, resting her head on one hand. She liked his confidence. "So what's your next move?"

"I'm glad you ask, I'm actually having lunch with Sora in precisely…" he checked his watch, "twenty minutes. Any advice you want to give me before I go on my lunch date with her?"

"Just try not to blow your cover, or she'll literally kill me for plotting behind her back. Yeah, _literally_. So if you want to get paid you better not screw up."

He snorted at her instruction. "Please, if I'm that untactful then I would've been driven out of this business already. Well, if there's nothing else then I guess it's time for me to go. Don't wanna keep a lady waiting." He rose from his chair and said goodbye.

Kari watched him walking off slowly when a thought suddenly occurred to her. "Oh wait, there's one more thing," she called out, smacking her forehead.

Willis halted and glanced behind him. "Yeah?"

"Make sure your girlfriend is okay with all this." A little precaution wouldn't hurt. Things were already complicated as they were. The last thing she wanted was for another plan of hers to backfire again.

* * *

><p>Tai Kamiya hated press conferences after important games. Or rather, he hated dealing with annoying reporters, period. Today's session in particular was more irritating than usual. Throughout the entire conference, different reporters kept on pestering him on his upcoming wedding. Granted he was a rather popular athlete in Japan, but he never expected his engagement would garner this much media exposure or persistent public scrutiny.<p>

Gripping his left hand on the knot, Tai loosened the black tie and stretched his neck to relieve a bit of the tension. The recent hectic events – interviews, training sessions, wedding planning… drained the daylight out of him. He wished he could just take a break from it all. If only he could somehow get out of his engagement and return to the bachelor days.

Strolling leisurely along the sidewalk, he exhaled deeply as his mind continued to wander off. He realized that he reached his destination when he arrived at a urban-looking skyscraper.

He found himself standing in front of Sora's office building.

Although appearing cool and casual on the outside, he was a nervous wreck inside. His relationship with his best friend had been getting increasingly argumentative and awkward as of lately. First there was the unexpected confession at the karaoke bar, then came the whole Sumiko debate. He didn't know what was happening to them, but he was certain of one thing: he was getting tired of this one step forward, two steps back pattern in their friendship, which was why he decided to go visit her in her office today. Maybe a friendly lunch, which they hadn't had in a long time due to their conflicting schedules, would help patch things up between them.

Stepping into the elevator, he pressed "25". As he reached for the button, he suddenly felt a soft, feminine hand grazed against his own to press "17". Turning his head sideways, he saw an attractive brunette smiling at him shyly. Catching his eye, she nervously ran her hand through her shoulder-length wavy hair. "Sorry," she muttered timidly.

He returned her smile politely and looked away before he gave her the wrong idea. Women somehow always misinterpreted his body language. He carefully ignored her expectant glance when she got off on the seventh floor. He thought he saw her looking somewhat disappointed. Oh well.

Upon reaching the 25th floor, Tai followed the familiar path down the corridor and opened the glass doors to Sora's office. He walked straight up to the receptionist, Erika, who was busy dealing with a delivery man.

"Hi, I have yet _another_ delivery here for Miss Sora Takenouchi," the man said, holding out an enormous and beautifully arranged bouquet of flowers.

"She's not here, but I'll sign it on her behalf," the secretary took the bouquet and scribbled her signature on the electronic capture pad. Once she was done, she looked up and spotted him.

"Oh hi Mr. Kamiya, how nice to see you again!" She greeted him amicably.

He nodded back at her. "Please, you can call me Tai," he said, dismissing the formality. It wasn't like she had never seen him before. In fact, he used to come visit his friend almost every week. "Is Sora in her office?" He asked.

"No I'm afraid she's not. She left for lunch thirty minutes ago," she checked the time on her desktop monitor. "But if you have time you can wait here for a while, I think she'll be back soon."

"Oh, I see… I guess I showed up too late huh." He was positive that she would be there. Sora almost always ate in her office. Looking through the transparent glass wall of the redhead's office, he noticed a pile of gifts on her desk. "What's up with all the teddy bears, purple roses and boxes of chocolate? Did she get another stalker again?" He pointed at the items.

Erika shook her head. "No. From what I heard she got herself a new boyfriend, and apparently a really hot one too! They went on this hot date, and ever since then he's been sending her all kinds of different gifts. Isn't he a dream? I wish I have a boyfriend like that, mine is so boring and lame –" She suddenly stopped babbling, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks, as if realizing she said too much.

"Really…" Tai muttered slowly, whose interest was suddenly piqued by the new piece of information revealed. How come Sora never told him anything anymore? And who was this so-called _hot date_ of hers? "It's okay, I'm not gonna tell anyone if that's what you're worried about," he added, noticing the embarrassed look on the secretary. "So how did they meet?" He inquired nonchalantly, keeping his tone casual.

Erika wasn't one to gossip in the office, but since she knew Tai Kamiya was her boss' best friend, she figured it wouldn't do any damage to keep him in the loop. He would find out sooner or later anyway. She glanced around sideways cautiously before leaning forward. "From what I heard, one of Sora's friends set her up on a blind date last night. Judging be the looks of it, it must have went well because he won't stop sending her gifts ever since. Isn't that sweet? I thought guys like him only exist in romantic comedies!"

Tai chose to ignore her comments. Did women only think about gifts? "So I'm assuming that Sora went out to have lunch with her… new boyfriend?" He asked instead.

"You assumed right." As Erika was about to resume her chattering, the delivery re-entered the office.

"And I'm back _again_ with another parcel for Ms. Takenouchi," he announced. "I forgot this in my truck." He placed a large, neatly wrapped box on the counter of the receptionist's desk.

"Oh my, this must be the fifth time today!" she exclaimed, staring at the package in wonder. "Is he head over heels in love with Sora or what?"

"Either that, or this bloke has got too much time and money to spend," the delivery man replied.

_Fifth time_? Just who was this guy? Tai lifted the card tucked under the ribbon of the gift and stared at the signature at the bottom. His brown eyes narrowed at the single word signed in an elegant cursive handwriting.

_Willis_

* * *

><p>After their lunch date at a nearby sushi restaurant, Willis gallantly offered to walk Sora back to her office, despite her insisting that he didn't have to seeing that her work place was only two blocks away.<p>

"Thanks for bringing me out to lunch today, I had a great time," she said to the man walking beside her. "And thanks for all those beautiful lilac roses, they're truly exquisite. You know, it's funny that you picked purple, which happens to be my favourite color for roses. Is there a reason why you chose that color?" She asked curiously, as red was usually the most popular choice.

"I'm just that good," he boasted playfully, which she responded by rolling her eyes, not buying his self-proclaimed talent.

The truth was he had asked Kari. But since he obviously couldn't tell her that, he quickly came up with a story. "When my sister was little, she used to fold origami roses and put them in different jars. Each jar had a different color – red, white, yellow, orange… I used to think that her habit was stupid and a complete waste of time. Then one Valentine's day I wanted to give flowers to this girl I liked, so I came up with a brilliant plan to steal some of my sister's roses."

"Why didn't you just get her real flowers?"

"Well, I wanted to impress her with something," he continued with his improvisation. "Besides, don't girls generally like mushy stuff like that? So one day when my sister wasn't home, I seized the opportunity to sneak into her room. I randomly stole a jar – the purple one."

"She found out and she got mad?" Sora deduced.

"Yea, she was furious!" He exaggerated, trying to make his fake story sound more believable. "She told me that the purple jar was special, and the reason why she separated all the colors was because they all had different meanings. For example, deep red means fiery passion, pink means grace and elegance, yellow means friendship, blue means mystery and ambiguity and so on. After meeting you, I thought about what color of roses to get you, and the color purple instantly popped up in my mind. I knew it was the perfect color for you because it means –"

"Enchantment," she completed his sentence.

Although Willis was relieved that she didn't suspect his load of crap, he was also surprised by her knowledge. "How did you know? You must receive a lot of flowers from admirers!"

"No," she laughed. "My mother owns a flower shop. I used to work there every day after school when I was younger even though I hated it with a passion…." She explained, reminiscing at the old memories.

"How come? I thought girls like flowers and pretty things in general, no?"

"Well, I was kind of a tomboy. I would have much rather preferred spending all my time outdoors playing soccer with my best friend. But my mother wanted to 'refine my feminine side'", she finger quoted, "so she made me help her out arranging flowers. That's how I learned all the meanings of the different rose colors."

"You, tomboy? I would have never guessed based on your style and your job now…" Willis looked her up and down, from her stylishly coiffed hair to her trendy dress, and finally to her elegant pumps. He simply couldn't picture her in sweatpants and baggy T-shirts.

"Yeah I know, it's crazy how people change when they grow up huh," she agreed.

They continued their light-hearted chit-chat on their way back. Sora was usually more reserved towards people she had just met, just to keep some distance between them. Somehow, being with Willis felt… natural. It was as if they had known each other for years.

"So anyway, are you free tomorrow night?" He asked her suddenly.

"Hmmm," she placed an index finger on her chin, trying to remember her schedule. "Tomorrow I'm planning to work on some ideas for the bachelorette. I don't want to postpone that any longer, especially since I haven't been a very good maid of honor as of lately."

"I can come over to help if you want," he offered genuinely, to her complete surprise.

He was self-inviting himself to her place to help her plan a _bachelorette_? Most men she knew would avoid that kind of activity at all cost. "Are you sure you want to do that? Don't guys hate these kinds of girly things? I don't wanna bore you to death."

"No I don't mind, I like planning events," he lied. He really just needed an excuse to see her again.

"Ok, if you insist. Well here we are. Thanks for walking me back. I guess I should head back inside. I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah I'll call you before coming over." He was about to turn around and leave when he noticed a mass of unruly brown hair quickly approaching the glass revolving door. With an unusual haircut like that, that guy had to be the object of Sora's affection.

Willis smirked shrewdly.

_The timing couldn't be more perfect._

In a swift movement, he grabbed Sora's forearm and gently pulled her forward into a brief hug. Surprised by his sudden grasp, she looked at him with questioning eyes and a slight frown. Without muttering another word, he slowly leaned down and kissed her on the lower part of her left cheek, near the corner of her lips. He felt her stiffened upon the contact. Despite her bewilderment, she didn't budge, as if she was frozen to the ground. He purposely let his lips lingered on her skin a little longer than necessary. Willis quickly glanced up at the other man at the door, making sure that he was witnessing his every move.

Anybody standing from the soccer player's angle would have mistaken that for a kiss on the lips without a doubt. With another glance in the brunet's direction, he noticed the other man's slight stunned features. Willis inwardly smirked triumphantly.

He hoped _Tai_ enjoyed the show.

* * *

><p>"Geesh Izzy, you look like hell."<p>

Izzy glanced up from his computer screen and saw Matt staring at him, casually leaning against his cubicle.

"Yeah, I know..." The Bearer of Knowledge peered down at his messy outfit and couldn't agree more. His shirt was wrinkled, some buttons were in the wrong holes and he wore different colored socks. He tried pulling down his pant legs, which did little to hide his mismatched socks. Sighing in defeat, he gave up on trying to fix his dishevelled appearance. "My alarm didn't ring this morning, long story... Anyway, what are you doing here, Matt?" Izzy asked his friend. He was surprised to see the blond man, who rarely paid him visits at work.

"I came to drop off a USB you forgot in my apartment last night," the other man replied and took out a flash drive from his pocket.

"Oh right, thanks," Izzy said, taking the small device from his friend. "You didn't have to bring it all the way here you know, you could've just given it to me the next time we see each other."

"It looks important. Besides, I don't want to be the cause of a network shutdown or something in case you stored something vital in there. You just can't live without your electronics, can you? You even brought your laptop to our hair contest last night," Matt chuckled. Even in the Digital World, Izzy carried his PiBook wherever they went.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I had to work on a work report that'd due by the end of today."

"So why didn't you tell us that you were busy?"

"I tried, but your girlfriend insisted that everyone had to be at your contest to judge your _hair_," Izzy replied, trying his best not to roll his eyes. "Talking about Mimi, how does she like her new pink hair?"

Matt crossed his arms and smirked. "She hates it, and she's absolutely appalled by the idea that she has to keep it till Tai's wedding, ha! That'll teach her a lesson to never make fun of my hair products and to get off her high horse."

Izzy shook his head at his friends' immaturity. "I'll never understand you two… Although I didn't think she would mind reverting back to her old haircut, I mean she had it for as long as I can remember."

"Yeah, well she grew out of that phase. She's going for a more mature and sophisticated look nowadays," Matt explained.

"IZUMI!" An angry voice suddenly barked authoritatively. Everyone in the lab turned around to see their boss emerging from his office. "When you're done chit-chatting, come see me," he ordered, directing his gaze at Izzy and pointing at him with his index finger.

The genius swallowed the lump in his throat nervously. "Sorry Matt, looks like I have to go see my boss, he sounds kind of pissed… Thanks again for bringing the USB, I'll see you around," he apologized before quickly scurrying off to his director's office.

Matt was glad that his boss never snarled at him like that. He didn't think he would be able to tolerate bossiness as well as Izzy could. The blond was about to leave when something on Izzy's computer screen caught his eye. It was a picture of an attractive girl with dark hair, brilliant bright eyes, pearly white perfectly straight teeth… wait a second.

_Why did Izzy have a picture of Sumiko on his screen? _

Matt quickly assumed that it probably had something to do with the wedding. Maybe Sora asked Izzy to photoshop some wedding reception pictures for the engaged couple… yes that had to be it. Curiously, he grabbed the mouse and navigated down the page to see the rest of the pictures.

The rest of the content was not what he had expected. Instead of finding professionally edited pictures, the rest of the page contained only words, almost like some kind of report.

... It appeared that Izzy was doing a background check on Sumiko. Did Sora instruct him to do this?

_Based on records taken from the Embassy of Japan in France, Catherine Vaillancourt was granted a Working Visa for a period of stay of three years. She is currently employed at the Bravo Models Modelling Agency in Tokyo, under the stage name Sumiko Yamasaki. As suggested by her agent, Vaillancourt also changed her appearance (see photo above) by dying her hair to a darker color in order to project a more mysterious image. Vaillancourt's career has been quite successful thus far, having posed for various local as well as world-famous magazines such as Kera, Vinyl Syndicate, Glitter, Elle, Harper's Bazaar and Cosmopolitain. _

Matt couldn't believe what he was reading. His mind was racing.

Sumiko was… Catherine Vaillancourt? Catherine as in… TK's DigiDestined friend from France? The old crush of his little brother?

Thinking back at Sora's speculations on Sumiko hiding skeletons in her closet, he thought it was simply her jealousy acting up. Sure, everyone had a few secrets they'd like to bury, but he never expected identity concealment to be one of Sumiko's, or rather _Catherine's_.

He simply stood there in awe, trying to process what he had just discovered. If she lied about her identity, who knows what other secrets she was hiding?

His mind could only think of one thing: shit just got real.


	9. Scheme

Hi all! I'm sooo sorry for the eternal wait! I can't believe it's been seven months already… I can list a number of reasons why I haven't updated for so long, but I'm sure nobody's interested in my babbling. So let's cut down to the chase: I'd like to quickly thank all the wonderful reviews, PMs, favourites/follows, and readers who took time to read this. Your support is an author's greatest gift :)

Also, thank you to the following reviewers: Skye-Excalibur, Valechan92, Vigatus, Tamer of the Zero Unit, TaioraWarrior, Mimato love 4ever, morales8, Rolling Girl, Squit Ayumin, blueberrykisses, cyclone5000, Antrxx, Misslea, taiorafan, Digi Yo, xAsClicheAsItCanBe, berrylicious, Shuuwai, angelallain, milkncookies11, DazzlingClouds,

Disclaimer: Me no own Digimon.

* * *

><p><em><span>Chapter 9 – Scheme<span>_

After bidding goodbye to Erica, Tai sauntered out of Sora's office toward the elevator, pressing the push button. Almost without delay, the 'down' arrow illuminated and the doors opened. He waited gallantly for the office lady beside him to step inside first, before trailing behind her.

Staring absentmindedly at his own reflection in the elevator's metal doors, the bushy-haired man thought back at the pile of gifts on Sora's desk and what Erica had confided in him earlier.

_Willis._

He wondered who this new admirer of hers was. Whoever he was, Tai hoped that Willis was mentally retarded and looked physically repulsive, perhaps someone with a unibrow, severe case of acne, balding and a tribal tattoo on his upper arm. Sora loathed tribal tattoos, calling them "meaningless, unoriginal and outdated". On second thought, she hated tattoos, period.

He inwardly sniggered at his silly mental picture. One could only hope, but who was he kidding? There was no way that Sora would attract anyone less than extraordinary. Judging from her past boyfriends, not only were they all remarkably handsome, but they each had impressive curriculums. One guy even volunteered in Kenya and to help build a school.

His reverie was suddenly shattered by a loud snort emitted by the woman standing beside him. His mind snapping back to reality, he directed his gaze towards her, trying to find the source of her sudden amusement. His brown orbs then landed on a picture of himself in the gossip magazine in her hands, with the title "Wedding Bells are Ringing for Tai and Sumiko!" splashed across a two-page spread.

_Had she perhaps recognized him?_

"Look, it's that Tai Kamiya again," she grunted sardonically and flashed him the article with annoyance. "That's all they talk about on celebrity news these days – his wedding, his model girlfriend, his amazing goals... it's so tiring! Don't you wish he'd just disappear?"

_Apparently not…_

She then turned her head to look at him, waiting eagerly for him to nod and agree with her irritation.

Tai's cheeks flushed from embarrassment, which thankfully, was not noticeable under the dimmed lighting of the elevator. For a moment, he debated on whether he should tell her who he was, just for the hell of it. But against better judgment, he decided to be nice and save the stranger from mortifying humiliation. So he merely nodded and smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, he's annoying isn't he?"

His response seemed to satisfy her, as she beamed contently to herself and brought her attention back to the publication, flipping through the pages silently for the rest of the ride.

Once they reached ground floor, he quickly stepped out of the lift before the woman would make further remarks on his personal life. Tai headed towards the revolving glass doors when a familiar silhouette standing in front of the entrance caught his sight. He grinned widely upon recognizing the fiery red hair. He was about to jog up to her, but stopped midway when he realized that she wasn't alone. Standing next to her was a man around their age. For a split second he had almost mistaken him for TK, but after taking a closer look, Tai noticed that this stranger's attire was far too formal compared to TK's usual style. His observations led him to the conclusion that this stranger must be Willis.

To his dismay and although he hated to admit it, Willis was far from being unattractive or looking anything like the mental picture he envisioned earlier. On the contrary, his eyebrows were perfectly shaped, he skin was fair and voluminous stylish short blond hair sat atop his head. From the way he dressed to the way he carried himself, every inch of him oozed self-confidence.

He looked like an actor who came straight out of one of those tacky romantic comedies.

Tai couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy as he watched Sora laugh at something that Willis guy just said. The way she slightly threw her head back and hit his arm flirtatiously, as if he had said the funniest joke she had ever heard.

Tai's eyes fixated on the pair as Willis encircle one arm around Sora's waist and lowered his head to kiss her. His eyebrows shot up in surprise. '_What the hell is he doing?'_ Tai thought angrily. The guy barely knew Sora and here he was, fawning all over her and sexually harassing her.

So maybe he exaggerated, but seeing her kissing another bloke irritated him nonetheless. He wanted nothing more than walking up to the couple to separate the two.

Wait a minute, what was he thinking?

He quickly shrugged his old feelings and sour thoughts aside. What had gotten into him? He felt guilty. No, he had no right to feel that way. Sora could date whoever pleases her. Besides, he had seen her kiss other guys countless times before, it wasn't anything new. He was only reacting so protectively because she was his best friend and practically family to him. Yes, that must be it. He had gotten over her a long time ago.

But no matter how hard he tried to convince himself, the back of his mind secretly hoped that Willis had a tribal tattoo concealed underneath his long sleeved dress shirt.

* * *

><p>Sora felt the heat radiating from her face as Willis' lips connected with her right cheek. She wasn't one to blush like a schoolgirl, but the forwardness and abruptness oh his kiss took her completely by surprise. Her blush deepened when Willis lingered longer than she expected.<p>

When he finally pulled away, she stole a quick glance at him looked down on her feet timidly, unsure of what to say.

"So I'll see you tomorrow night?" He asked instead, skillfully choosing not to comment on her sudden shyness. Willis mentally smirked at her reaction. She was playing into his hands, exactly as planned. Women are so predictable.

"…Yeah, see you tomorrow," she replied, trying her best to sound unfazed.

"I'll call you," he gestured by outstretching his thumb and pinky and bringing his hand close to his ear, before waving goodbye.

Sora watched him walk away and absentmindedly touched the spot where he kissed her. What was all that about?

It was just a friendly goodbye kiss, she told herself, just like how westerners greet each other. A purely platonic I'll-see-you-around peck on cheek, there was really no reason to make a big deal out of it.

She didn't do anything so far that would give him the impression that she was leading him on, did she?

Maybe she should call Willis and cancel their meeting later. Maybe she should stop seeing him altogether, period. With her already chaotic agenda as of lately, she had no time to complicate things further by getting involved in unwanted relationships. Her priority above all else was to destroy a certain wedding.

"Someone's looking a bit dreamy. I thought you weren't a fan of PDA."

Sora spun around on her heels upon recognizing the familiar voice coming from behind her. "Tai!" She squealed in surprise. Her cheeks then flushed slightly at his remark. "What are you doing here? That wasn't... I… It's not… he…" she tried to justify, stuttering nervously.

He chuckled lightly at her embarrassment. "Why are you suddenly acting so shy around me? It's not like I've never seen you kiss anyone before, you know," he looked into her eyes with a cheeky grin.

She fidgeted with her hair. '_Great, now he thinks I'm unavailable and going out with Willis_,' she thought to herself angrily. Her plan was to stop his wedding and profess her feelings, not give him the wrong idea that she liked someone else! Urgh, why did everything always backfire on her?

"So, it seems like my so-called best friend didn't tell me that she got herself a new boyfriend. It's not fair, I tell you everything about my life but you don't tell me anything anymore, what is up with that huh?" Tai shook his head and clicked his tongue in disapproval.

"That's because there's nothing to tell! And he's not my boyfriend," she countered quickly, pushing her side-swept bangs out of her eyes. "He's just someone I met not long ago, a mere acquaintance."

"Suure, that's what you said about your last boyfriend too. You said he was nothing but a 'mere acquaintance' and the next thing we knew, you went out with him for a whole year. Anyway, there's no point denying that there's something going on between you and this new guy, I saw the way you were flirting with him," he continued to tease her, nudging her with his elbow. "It's ok, there's nothing to be embarrassed about, it's not like we're kids anymore."

Sora sighed in defeat at her stubborn friend. "You don't give up, do you?"

"Not until you tell me more juicy details about this secret blossoming romance of yours. So come on, spill the beans."

"You're such a woman, cut it out!" She said exasperatedly and shoved his shoulder, slowly growing annoyed at his childish taunting. "I'm telling you, I'm not going out with him!"

"Ok ok I believe you, no need to take a stab at my masculinity," he laughed and placed a hand over the spot where she hit him, secretly relieved and happy that she wasn't seeing anyone. "That guy sure is into you though, sending you a thousand gift baskets and flooding your office with love notes. It's almost like he's marking his territory."

"You saw the gifts?"

"You have to be blind not to, your desk is buried under a huge pile of boxes, bows, paper wraps and whatever else he apparently got from Hallmark. Even the delivery guy was sick of coming back to your office."

Sora chuckled at his remark, mentally visualizing the delivery man's annoyed expression she saw this morning. "I've never had someone showering me so many gifts before. Come to think of it, I don't think I ever got that many presents on my birthdays even. But to be honest, I don't like getting all these gifts. It makes me feel like I owe him a favor by accepting all these flowers and chocolate, like I'm obligated to see him again."

"So send his cheesy garbage back to him," Tai suggested. "Let him know that you're not interested and that he should stop wasting his time. He's coming on to you a little too strong if you ask me. The flowers, chocolates, gift baskets and now the kiss, what is he gonna do next? Get down on a knee and propose to you?"

Sora didn't say anything as he continued on about how foolishly insistent he thought Willis was. She was amazed at how Tai's curiosity quickly turned into protectiveness. For the past five minutes, he did nothing else other than pestering her about her relationship with Willis. If she didn't know him any better, she would think that he was a little jealous. But as his best friend, she was aware of how over-protective he was towards his family and friends. His current behavior was nothing unusual, as he acted the same way with Kari every time a boy merely glanced her way. Despite the fact that Tai probably just wanted to ensure Willis wasn't some psychotic loser, his persistent inquiry satisfied her a little nonetheless.

"While we're on the topic, who is he anyway?" Tai queried. "Willis, is it? I think that's the name he signed on his cards."

"Well, aren't you observant," she smiled. "He's nobody, really, just some guy Kari introduced me a few days ago. He invited me to have dinner with him and that's about it. Nothing happened afterwards, for your information," she added, before he could insinuate anything further.

So Kari was trying to play matchmaker? Tai made a mental note to ask his sister about it later.

"I think we've talked about Willis enough for today," Sora settled, deciding to close the topic. "Let's talk about something more exciting like your wedding, shall we?"

* * *

><p>"You think Mimi called in sick today?" TK asked and looked sideways at his friend.<p>

"Ha, I wouldn't be surprised if she's all shriveled up under her blanket right now, trying to hide her new hair from the world," Davis snickered. "I don't know why she's horrified of hew new hairdo. I mean look at Yolei, she was _born_ with purple hair, ye she survived just fine and fully embraces the fact that she's a mutant."

"You're so mean," TK shook his head and chuckled. "Why do you always pick on her?"

Davis shrugged. "Because it amuses me? It's not like she never makes fun of _me_, so it's only fair."

"Well in her defense your hair color isn't very common for Japanese people either, Davis. I mean what is this color," TK pointed at his friend's head, "Dark fuscia or something? This makes you a mutant too."

"For your information my hair color is _mahogany_, a beautiful blend between red and brown. It is an extremely rare mixture that makes all girls go gaga and fawn all over it," he ran a hand through his short spiky hair. "My hair's very hip."

TK almost choked at his last words. "Riiiight, whatever you say to make yourself feel better," he patted Davis' back.

"Hmph, you're one to talk about Japanese traits! What about you, huh? If anything, you're the one who looks foreign with your blond hair and blue eyes."

"That's because I _am_ part foreign. My grandpa is French, remember?"

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Davis waived his hand to dismiss the fact.

"Why are we having this conversation about hair again?"

"I don't know… Oh my God, we're turning into Matt and Mimi," Davis gasped in horror, looking positively mortified at the realization. "Their crazy obsession with hair is rubbing off on us. Ok no more hair talk!" He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.

"Agreed."

"Anyway, I really hope Mimi's at work though, so we can eat free sushi again." Davis licked his lips. Just the thought of Mimi's sushi made his stomach growl involuntarily.

Mimi's career choice as a chef had unquestionably surprised her DigiDestined friends. Ever since they were kids back in the Digital World, the bubbly girl always dressed to the nines. Everyone recognized her apparent interest in fashion and beauty care. Most of her peers thought that Mimi would eventually end up in beauty school, in the field of cosmetology or even hairdressing. Her artistic talent even earned her the title of 'Best Dressed' in her high school year book.

The last thing anyone expected was for Mimi to enroll in cooking school. Heck, Mimi never showed even the slightest interest in food, let alone culinary arts. Nonetheless, everybody was supportive of her decision.

Everyone except her father, who was immensely displeased. Mr. Tachikawa always had high hopes for his only child, envisioning her to become a successful professional and the eventual successor of his business empire. Little did he expect her to be serving food to people he referred to as "commoners".

Davis and TK pushed through the doors of a familiar, small sushi restaurant and instantly spotted their pink-haired friend behind the conveyor belt of rotating plates. They proceeded to sit on two stools facing their friend.

"Hey Meems!"

"Hi Mimi!"

The two boys greeted simultaneously, which caused Mimi to lift up her head and beam at her unexpected visitors.

"Hey, you two! What are you doing here?"

"To eat free lunch, duh," Davis replied and grabbed a menu, as if it was the most obvious answer. "Unless your boss is around today… he's not, is he?" He stretched his head and looked past the counter, searching for the sight of a chubby, balding man with bushy eyebrows.

"Who says you're getting free lunch, you moocher? You come here every week, it wouldn't hurt for you to pay once in a while. I swear I'm gonna get fired one of these days because of your appetite."

"I'm actually doing your boss a favor by coming here to eat."

Mimi quirked an eyebrow. "Is that so? In what way are you doing my boss a favor? By getting eating all his food and making him go bankrupt?"

"No," Davis smiled, tapping his chopsticks and waited for the sushi chef to guess again.

"Do enlighten me," Mimi crossed her arms.

"Think about it this way, what do you do at the end of the day with the leftover rolls? You can't put them back in the fridge and keep them for the next day because they won't be fresh anymore."

"Well, usually the boss brings the food home for his kids. But sometimes, if he doesn't want it, then he'll just the employees split it amongst ourselves," she explained.

"But what if the employees are sick of eating sushi and don't want to bring any leftovers home? They'll have to throw them away right?"

"No… there's always somebody who wants to bring the sushi home, especially part-time students working here. They're all on a budget and they always appreciate a little extra food. I still don't see where you're going with this," she frowned in confusion, not understanding Davis' logic.

"Nevermind him and his pointless babble," TK addressed Mimi.

"My point is," Davis talked a little louder, "Say even the part-timers are sick of eating sushi and decide to throw the leftovers away, instead of tossing out good food at the end of the day, why don't you throw some away in my mouth now? Win-win situation for everyone, and it'll save your boss the guilty feeling of wasting food."

"Wow, what a sharp business mind you've got there, Davis," Mimi replied sarcastically. "Maybe I should try to convince my boss to hire you as his financial controller. Unfortunately for you, despite your poor attempt at justifying your cheapness, you still have to pay. But you can eat for free, TK."

"Hey that's not fair!" The younger boy cried, outraged by her blatant favoritism.

Mimi smiled knowingly without looking up, focusing on plating her dish. It amused her to tease Davis, he was so gullible. "I was just joking, Davis."

"Really? Thank goodness because I don't think I brought enough cash with me anyway." Davis grinned while picking up a plate of two neatly placed Unagi from the conveyor belt. "Nice hair, by the way."

"Urgh, don't remind me," Mimi held up a hand and scoffed at his snide comment. Ever since she had lost the stupid bet, she had been avoiding mirrors like the plague.

She could _not_ believe that she had lost.

Her. Mimi. Queen of beauty.

Lost to _Matt_ of all people.

"Why, didn't you use to love this haircut?" the younger boy continued to taunt.

Mimi scowled. "Keep talking and I'll start adding up your bill," she threatened him, pointing the knife clutched in her hand to the growing pile of plates next to him. She narrowed her eyes and violently beheaded the lifeless salmon in front of her, sending tiny fish scales flying from her cutting board.

Both boys gulped fretfully and shot each other sidelong glances.

"Ha ha…" Davis laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head with one hand. "I was just kidding Meems, your haircut isn't _that_ horrendous," he consoled the furious girl, who looked like she was ready to smash the nearest object.

"_That horrendous?!_ Come again?!" She barked, the volume of her voice rapidly rising to crescendo.

TK buried his face in his right palm and shook his head in disbelief. It almost seemed like the idiot was purposely putting his foot in his mouth.

A small bead of sweat formed on Davis' forehead. Mimi was literally staring daggers at him now. "Err… it doesn't look half bad, I mean compared to your natural brown hair this looks kinda weird, sorta like a pink mop flipped upside down, but –"

"Just shut up Davis," TK shook his head.

"What I meant to say was –"

"What he _really_ meant to say was, your new haircut looks good on you in funky, quirky but good way. It gives you an innovative edge. It's rather refreshing," TK intervened quickly, before the other boy had the chance to mutter another brainless comment to add fuel to the fire.

Mimi, on the other hand, was not the slightest bit convinced. "Yeah okay, your attempt to cover Davis' ass won't work on me."

"No, I'm telling you the truth. Come on Meems, you're _the_ Mimi Takachiwa, you can pull off anything."

"But I don't want to be funky and quirky," she whined. "I look absolutely ridiculous and… beyond dreadful! I look like I'm fourteen again."

"No you don't," the blond countered. "It could've been worse, you know."

The chef chortled humorlessly. "Worse than looking like a giant pink mop with bits of shiny residue stuck in between? I don't think so," she rolled her eyes.

TK dipped a slice of salmon sashimi in his small plate of soy sauce and shrugged. "Matt could've made you shave your head or get a multicolored Mohawk."

"He wouldn't dare come near me with a razor, not when I'm the expert at handling knives."

Davis looked at the dead salmon, who was beheaded mercilessly, on Mimi's cutting board. "You're right about that."

* * *

><p>Izzy clenched his mouth shut despite his anger as he stepped out of his boss' office, who had scolded him for his tardiness and 'lack of professionalism'. For the record that was the first and only time he had been late for work so far. So what he woke up a little late? He couldn't believe that his supervisor made such a big fuss out of nothing. Stupid bitter old man, always finding excuses to direct his foul mood and negativity towards his innocent subordinates. It wasn't their fault that he was experiencing marital problems at home.<p>

On his way back to his cubicle, Izzy carefully ignored his colleagues' curious stares and whispered chattering. Great, as if the big scene wasn't humiliating enough already, now everyone would start harassing him on the reason of their boss' outbreak. "He should sign up for anger management," the genius grumbled to himself, continuing his mental rant.

"Who should?" drawled a smooth voice from his cubicle.

It was only then that Izzy noticed his friend's stylish mass of blond hair, whose presence took him completely by surprise. Didn't Matt leave an hour ago?

"What are you still doing here, Matt?"

Resting against the backrest of Izzy's chair, the astronaut spun around to face the other DigiDestined with his arms crossed. "Oh nothing, just reading up on something interesting I found. Quite a notorious report you have here," he cocked his head in the computer screen's direction languidly. His voice was calm and his face, impassive, yet a faint trace of accusation was noticeable in his tone.

Izzy was baffled by his words for a split second. What was Matt talking about? Why did he suddenly sound angry? He then lifted his gaze to look at the screen that Matt was referring to. Upon seeing the content, his stomach clenched and he swallowed hard.

_Crap._

To his horror, the biographical report on Catherine was plastered across his monitor, like an indecent and scandalous piece of work exposed to the public eye. He couldn't believe it, he had _just_ received the report and he was already busted… and by Matt of all people, the cunning one of the pack.

How could he be so careless? Being a professional hacker he had just broken one of the fundamental rules of information security: locking systems and monitoring for intrusion. If his boss didn't call him so urgently, he would've locked his computer properly… stupid old man! It was all his fault!

Matt studied his friend who appeared to be gripped by internal turmoil. A set of different emotions danced across the maroon-haired man's face: confusion, disbelief, panic, and finally frustration, as if he was wordlessly reproaching himself. The blond felt a little bad poking around in his friend's stuff without permission and invading personal privacy, but the urgency of his curiosity was overriding his guilt for the time being. "Well, are you gonna at least explain why you're secretly doing a background search on Catherine?"

Izzy tried to maintain an unwavering posture. He opened his mouth but quickly closed it again, hesitant on his choice of justification. If he didn't pick his words tactfully, he could unintentionally rat out Sora.

"Relax, it's not I'm gonna report you to the police or something," Matt reassured his troubled friend, noticing his frown. "You look so nervous, like you'll burst any second. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, but I'm guessing that Sora asked you to dig up some dirt on Catherine?"

Izzy's uncomfortable silence confirmed his suspicion. "So I'm right. When Sora told us she knew the perfect guy to help her investigate, I suspected she'd come to you. I just never thought you would actually agree to do it. I guess she corrupted you, huh."

_Damn Matt and his intuitiveness_.

The maroon-haired man sighed. Since Matt already knew this much, he might as well tell him the whole truth. "At first I told Sora I wouldn't help her because it was none of our business who Tai's marrying. But the more I thought about what she said, the more I agree with her. Why would Tai suddenly marry some random model when it's so painfully obvious to everyone that he's in love with his best friend? This whole engagement is just too rushed, so I started looking up Sumiko. Honestly I didn't expect to find anything, but unbelievably I stumbled across something shocking."

"You found out that she's actually Catherine, the French DigiDestined."

"Yes, precisely. And as you probably read from the report already, she's here in Japan on a temporary work visa. But what I find most interesting is that her father is currently in jail for committing a cybercrime. Maybe this has something to do with whatever her motive is."

"Wow…" Matt reclined against the backrest of his chair, letting the information sink in. "I can't believe this is real… Does Tai know about this?"

"No, so far only you, me and Sora know. Before we decide to do anything, please keep this to yourself." Izzy sat atop the corner of his desk.

The blond nodded. Silence fell over both men momentarily, as they each lost in their own thoughts.

"You know, when I saw Catherine's picture on your screen, at first I thought you were stalking Tai's girlfriend."

Izzy shot Matt an aghast look, mouth hanging agape. "You should know me better than that, I would never do such a creepy thing!"

"I was just kidding, Izzy. She's not smart enough to be your type anyway," Matt teased. "What do you think Catherine's up to? Pretending to be someone else, drastically changing her appearance, unexpectedly getting engaged… it just doesn't make any sense."

"At this point, I honestly have no idea. I still can't figure out a motive behind her actions. I wish I can figure out something, _anything_ that could give us a lead," he exasperated.

"So now what do we do?" Matt queried.

The computer genius stared thoughtfully at Catherine's picture on his computer screen. He chewed on his lower lip in concentration, weighing several viable options in his head: option number one, do nothing and pretend that nothing unusual came to his attention; option number two, divulge his new discoveries to Sora and let her carry on from there; option number three, dig further into Catherine's identity before taking action.

After several seconds of his brief mental analysis, he made up his mind. Yes, that was probably the best alternative for now. He looked into Matt's azure eyes solemnly.

"Now, we confront Catherine."

* * *

><p>"Really, Davis? Really?" TK asked after they exited the restaurant.<p>

"What?"

"You compared her hair to a mop. Real smooth man," the blond shook his head.

"I just blurted out the first thing that came into my mind okay!"

"And a mop is the best thing you could think of? How you manage to get girls is beyond me…"

Davis scowled. "Shut up TA. Unlike you, I don't need to put any effort in attracting the ladies, because _they _come to me. Yeah , that's right, just one glance and they're hypnotized by my charm. Just like that," he snapped his fingers.

The pair continued their typical squabbling while strolling leisurely down the sidewalk. Suddenly, TK realized that Davis' cheery voice hasn't interrupted him for the past minute. He quickly glanced sideways and noted that the other boy was no longer walking beside him. The blond turned around and spotted Davis glaring intently at someone across the street. He slowly walked back to join him. "Are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost."

Davis clenched his fists, his eyes fixated on a disappearing figure amongst the crowd. "No, worse. I saw a scumbag."

Seeing his friend's quick change in demeanor, TK began to worry. Rarely did he ever see Davis looking so serious and stern. He followed his gaze all the way to the other side of the road, but failed to spot anyone unusual. "Who?"

"Willis," Davis replied, never shifting his focus.

TK furrowed his brows. The name did not ring a bell for him. "Willis? Who's Willis?"

"An asshole who cheated on my sister."

"You mean…"

"Yeah, Jun's ex-boyfriend. He vanished without a trace after they broke up, so I never had the chance to teach the two-timing bastard a lesson for hurting my sister."

Before TK had the chance to ask further questions, Davis pulled at his sleeve and broke into a run, "Come on, I can't let him get away this time."

* * *

><p>The model looked up expectantly at the doorframe.<p>

Her lips curled into a genuine smile as she saw her boyfriend trudging into the apartment.

"Hey," Tai muttered and threw a quick glance in her direction.

She rose from her seat and walked up to him. "Salut chéri (hi sweetheart)," she greeted him sweetly and wrapped her slender arms around him in a welcoming hug, to which he returned half-heartedly. As she was about to lean up to kiss him, he briskly untangled himself from her embrace and bent down to remove his shoes.

She bit her lower lip and fought back the oppressed frustration in her chest. Was her touch really that revolting to him? "So how was your day?" She asked instead, leaning against the wall behind her.

"Good, same as usual," he replied matter-of-factly and made his way into the washroom. "How was yours?"

"Great, I went to try on more wedding gowns. I tried on this gorgeous diamond white dress with a sweetheart neckline, lace-up back and a kremlin underneath. I looked stunning in it! I wish I could show it to you, but people say it's unlucky for the groom to see the bride in her wedding dress before the ceremony."

The brunet washed his hands. "You didn't ask Sora to come along with you?" He asked over the running water of the tab.

His lack of enthusiasm was starting to piss her off. She was fully aware that he didn't reciprocate her feelings, but it wouldn't hurt for him to at least try.

"No, I figured I shouldn't bother her for every little thing, I mean she's already busy enough with the tasks she has on hand. I was thinking of getting a kimono as one of my outfits for our wedding, what do you think?"

Tai shrugged nonchalantly. "It's up to you, you'll be the one wearing it. Whatever you choose is fine by me. Oh, are you busy tomorrow night?"

"No, I'm free. Why, you wanna take me out tomorrow night?" She beamed and snuggled up to him gingerly.

"…Well, I was actually thinking of going over some details of our wedding planning with you."

"Let me guess, you invited Sora along?"

"Yeah, I told Sora we'd all meet up around seven, after she finishes work."

At the mention of _her_ name, Catherine almost wanted to let out a sarcastic snort. Somehow the mention of _Sora_'s name always made his face light up. She instantly loosened her hold on Tai and turned her back on him.

What did Sora have that she didn't?

"Is she all you can think and talk about? Can't we try to have a conversation that doesn't revolve around Sora for once?"

"Geez Catherine, what's gotten your panties in a bunch today? Sora's your maid of honor, so it's inevitable that I talk about her. In case you've forgotten, she's planning half of our wedding," he dried his hands on the green towel and walked past her and through the bathroom door.

That was the last straw for her.

For the past few days, she mused on whether she was acting too cruel and heartless, whether her scheme should be dropped, whether she went too far by dragging Tai into this mess. She sought vengeance after one man in particular, maybe it wasn't fair to get innocent people involved. But seeing him like this, so unenthused and distant, her hesitation instantly vanished.

Life wasn't fair to her. The Takenouchis had it all while the Vaillancourts had nothing.

Sora Takenouchi was a renowned and elite fashion designer whose legacy will live for decades, while she was just one of the many models whose careers would dissolve as soon as her youth dissipates.

Toshiko Takenouchi garnered adoration and envy for having brought up such a successful daughter, while her mother shied away from society to avoid evil looks and hateful gossips for marrying a criminal.

Haruhiko Takenouchi was a respectable college professor recognized by his distinguished peers, while her father was a loathed prisoner with a forever damaged reputation.

The Takenouchis' happiness was achieved at the expense of François Vaillancourt's innocence.

Catherine closed her eyes and clenched her jaw. Their joyful lives disgusted her to the core. To think that they were living in luxury while her father was suffering, alone and miserable, made her blood boil.

Why did she second-guess her plan again? She solemnly swore to herself to clear her father's name. After all the pain Haruhiko Takenouchi has inflicted on her father, he deserved every single one of the punishments she had in store for him and his family. That's right, she had worked far too hard to abandon her plan now. It was past the point of no return. There mere contemplation of backing out now was unforgivable.

She stormed into her bedroom. Frantically searching in her purse, she reached for her cell phone and dialed a familiar number. '_Come on, answer already,'_ she drummed her fingernails on her vanity table impatiently, looking at her reflection in the mirror.

"Hello?"

"Hello Ares?"

The voice on the other line hesitated. "…Catherine?"

"Yeah, it's me. Just thought I'd check up on what we talked about. Did the hacker we talked about contact you?"

"Yes he did, just as you predicted. I gave him information on you as per your instructions."

So Sora had already shamelessly made a move. "Excellent. Now, I have another favor to ask you."

"What is it?"

She paused and contemplated on the next step of her plan. "I want you to leak something new to Tento."

Two can play this game.

* * *

><p>For those of you who watch <em>The Office<em> (American version), did you pick up on the reference? For those of you who don't, a part of the Davis/TK scene at the sushi restaurant was inspired by a certain hotdog scene on that show (Season 7, Episode 15). No plagiarism intended!


	10. Mirage

A/N: Ok wow it's been so long since I last posted a chapter, I lost counts of the number of months. Come to think of it, I think I said the same thing in my last update too… This isn't looking too good for me, is it? For anyone who hasn't lost interest in this story yet, I'm definitely still alive.

As usual, a great big thank you and virtual group hug to:

xAsClicheAsItCanBe, Antrxx, Digi Yo, Vigatus, Squit Ayumin (are you one of those who likes to root for the villains? :p), To Love Is To Destroy, Skye-Excalibur (your comment made me laugh haha), Tamer of the Zero Unit (no worries, typing with a mobile is a pain!), TaioraWarrior (biggest plot twist on the SITE? Wow it's incredibly flattering, ty!), Melodisz, HERBIVORE MUNCH (sorry I couldn't keep our bargain, I'm sure you must've updated 10+ times by now), Taiorafan (thank you and your English is great!), LKTaiguinmon97, Ang9, kabuteriman, berrylicious (glad you liked it :))

Disclaimer: If I owned Digimon, I would've retired long before my career even started. So no, I don't own it.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 10 – Mirage<strong>_

* * *

><p>"Lift your eyes up a little bit and turn your head to the right, Sumiko."<p>

_Flash._

"Yes just like that, perfect! Now place your right hand on your hip and give me a fierce pose."

_Flash. Flash. Flash. _

Lying on a Cleopatra chair and clad in an oversized burgundy silk blouse matched with geometrical-print pants, Catherine followed the instructions as the photographer snapped pictures of her furiously from every angle he could reach.

"Excellent, now _smize _(1) with those gorgeous blue eyes of yours," he directed, kneeling on one knee to get a closer focus on the model's face.

The brunette lowered her chin and gazed upward to the camera through her makeup-heavy extended lashes. As the blinding flashes went off, she shifted her poses by tilting her head in different directions and repositioning her body effortlessly without any pause intervals.

"Stunning, absolutely fabulous! You're a real natural, Sumiko," the photographer praised after taking his last shot. "Alright I think that's enough for this outfit, everybody let's take a break for 15 minutes," he announced, turning to the rest of the crew.

"Finally," Catherine whined as she lifted herself up from the divan. As slender as her legs were, she couldn't wait to take off these torturously uncomfortable pants. They were so tight that she could barely bend her knees without feeling the rough material pulling against her skin.

Limping her way to the changing room, she grabbed a bottle of water on her way and headed towards her usual seat. She reached for her cellphone inside her indigo envelope clutch, glided her finger across the screen to unlock it and was disappointed by the lack of new alerts.

No word from Aries yet.

It had been almost one full day since she asked him to leak new information to Tai's friend, news that would undoubtedly stir curiosity. Surely there would be some reaction by now, especially knowing Izzy's inquisitive nature? It was impossible that he wouldn't ask Ares for additional information. This unresponsiveness was not what she predicted and she didn't like the idea of losing the upper hand to her opponents.

"Hey gorgeous," a voice greeted in the doorway, diverting her attention away from her device.

Locking her phone instantly by reflex to hide the content, she looked up and her guard relaxed upon seeing the intruder. "Michael! What brings you here?"

"Why do you always sound so surprised to see me, Catherine? I'm just here to visit my beautiful friend," he said as he winked at another passing model in a skimpy outfit, staring openly at her long legs as she walked away. The only response elicited in return was the French rolling her eyes at his shameless behavior.

She poked his chest with her index finger to snap him out of his daydream. "Hang out with me, you say? More like to gawk creepily at girls you'll never get, you pig. And I told you not to call me Catherine while we're in Japan, don't want to blow my cover remember?" She got up and made her way to the changing booths.

"Oh right, I'm supposed to call you by your stage name now," he trailed behind her nonchalantly. "What is it again? Susuko? Fujiko?"

"For the hundredth time, it's _Sumiko_," she corrected in annoyance and shut the curtain closed. "It's not even that hard to remember."

"Toh-may-toh, toh-mah-toh, they all sound the same to me," he shrugged and leaned against the mirrored wall behind him, shoving his hands inside his pockets. "So Sukiko, who's that hot leggy model who just passed by? Any chance you can introduce me to her?"

Ignoring his intentional mispronunciation, she stuck her head outside the drape and raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, Michael? You're in la-la-land if you think you have a shot with her. De-lu-sion-al," she sang and made a circling motion of her index finger next to her head, a smirk gracing her lips. "Hand me that white dress over there will you?"

He grabbed the fluffy dress she was pointing at and passed it along. "I'd kindly like to point out that a certain French model, who strangely bears a striking resemblance to you, used to date me."

She took the fabric from his hand and closed the curtain once more. "I was a stupid and naive teenager back then. If I could relive that age, I wouldn't think twice before rejecting you."

"And get a major downgrade from me to Kamiya? I don't get you," he said half-jokingly, shaking his head even though she couldn't see him. "Your taste in men digresses as you age."

"Right, because any girl in her right mind would pass on the chance to date an international athlete who happens to be famous, rich, nice and not to mention incredibly hot," she pulled the thick straps over her shoulders and stepped out of the booth. "Zip my dress for me?"

He obeyed and stepped behind her, dragging the golden zipper along her smooth back. "I don't see what's so supposedly _hot _about him," he emphasized dramatically.

She smiled at his obvious jealousy. "Have you not seen that man? Like you don't know."

"No, actually I don't. I'm not gay so I don't check out other guys. This just proves how superficial women are," he concluded. "Only going for looks, not bothering to see past the cover. And people say men are shallow, oh the injustice."

"Says the guy who hits on models! You're such a hypocrite. Besides, you know very well the real reason why I'm marrying Tai," she stated and turned around to face the mirror. The American saw through his peripheral vision that her playful expression had suddenly turned solemn.

He did know the real reason. In fact, he was the only person who knew about Catherine's plan to avenge her father's innocence. Not even Catherine's mother knew why her daughter moved to Japan without any notice. Ares the hacker may have guessed bits and pieces of her intention, but his knowledge was limited to the extent of whatever information was given and available to him.

"To be honest, I didn't expect my plan to go so smoothly," Catherine said lowly, flattening out the creases of the fabric clung to her waist. "But this is all happening thanks to Tai. When I told him I'd expose Haruhiko Takenouchi's crime and make his daughter an accessory if he didn't marry me, he didn't put up any resistance at all. He willingly took the bait."

Michael couldn't believe Tai complied to Catherine's outrageous demand either. He wanted to comment on her fiancé's gullibility but decided now wasn't the best time to interrupt.

"Who would have expected the great leader of the original DigiDestineds to turn out to be so easy to con? Who would have guessed that he's nothing but an idiot who falls for all the lies I told him, just for the sake of protecting his best friend from knowing the truth about her father. I still can't believe he would sacrifice his own happiness for her without the blink of an eye, as if his own life meant nothing to him," she chuckled humorlessly. "What a fool."

Michael maintained his silence. He knew she wanted him to voice out encouraging support, to appease her camouflaged guilt conscience, but he couldn't. He had no right to judge Tai when he too would go to the ends of the earth for his best friend.

"To have someone love her so blindly and selflessly, she's really lucky. One would think that unconditional love like that only exists in fairy tales. It's almost envious," the French carried on, her eyes slowly glazing over, gradually sinking into her inner thoughts. "Which is why I won't let her have her happy ending."

The American turned his head sideway and looked at her. "Catherine..." A sorrowful plea escaped his lips.

"I've planned this for far too long. For the last five years of my life, I learned Japanese, I spent all my savings to relocate to a foreign country, I changed the way I look... I..." her voice began to quiver slightly. However, she regained her composure, refused to crumble under her momentary state of vulnerability. "I did all this to get to where I am today. I want every single one of the Takenouchis to taste the emptiness we suffered, to atone for the injustice that tore my family apart. Reclaiming my father's innocence isn't enough. No, I want each one of his carefree family member to relinquish their happiness."

She paused briefly before resuming her resolution with finality. "I will take away everything they have," she stated, her cold blue orbs piercing directly into his, reflecting nothing but pure contempt.

Michael shifted his gaze away from her to his shoes, unable to behold the intensity of her stare. The rawness of such overwhelming disdain almost made him shudder, even though it was meant for another man. It pained him to see that the person behind this angel's mask was slowly sinking into the shadows with each passing day. The once innocent, cheery golden girl was now tainted by an obstinate obsession to ruin the Takenouchis. Her scheme wasn't without reason and she had every right to be furious, but she was taking things too far.

"Will you stay on my side and support me till the very end of this, Michael?" She asked quietly, the tenderness of her voice contrasted with her destructive goals.

Every fiber of conscience in his being beseeched him to talk some senses back into her before things were too far gone, but his treacherous mouth wouldn't comply. He simply didn't have the heart to deny her because like Tai, he would also cling on to that invisible thread of hope instead of letting her go completely.

"You know I'll always be there for you," he muttered just as softly.

At times he didn't know whether having Catherine in his life was a blessing or a curse.

* * *

><p>Kari looked up from the pile of ungraded assignments on her kitchen table as her two friends pushed through her apartment door.<p>

"Kari, did we not tell you to start locking your door?"Davis scolded with the doorknob still clutched in his hand. "One of these days instead of seeing us walking in, you'll find a burglar in a nylon stocking mask burst into your place. When that happens I don't want to be the one to tell you 'I told you so'."

"Yes dad," the girl replied light-heartedly despite detecting her friend's foul mood. Having been friends with Davis for a decade, she discovered his unique habit of lecturing others whenever something bothered him. Before he had the chance to continue reprimanding her, she quickly changed the subject. "So what were you two up to?"

TK comfortably plopped down in the nearest chair. "We went to eat sushi at Mimi's restaurant, and smooth guy over here called her a 'pink mop flipped upside down'. Can you believe it?"

"Oh Davis," Kari shook her head and laughed. "That is _so_ you. Mimi must've been furious. I'm surprised you even made it back alive."

The pair looked at Davis and awaited his typical wordy protest, but it never came. He merely grumbled in response and roughly removed his sneakers, unintentionally kicking the neatly arranged shoe rack in the way, sending a few shoes tumbling down onto the wooden floor.

Startled, Kari turned her focus to TK and raised her eyebrows. She had seen a grumpy Davis countless times before, but she had rarely, if ever, seen a quiet Davis. On his worst day he would probably still be far more chatty than average people on their best day.

"Why the long face, Davis? Did Mimi ask you to pay for your own meal for once?" The younger Kamiya ventured a wild guess at the cause of his irritability.

"No," came the spiky-haired boy's terse reply as he forcefully stuffed a pair of sandals back into their original position.

TK sighed knowingly. "Is this about Willis? Are you still mad that we lost him in the crowd?"

"Of course I am! I can't believe we lost sight of him in the middle of the street!" Davis hit his left palm with his right fist. "If it wasn't because of that group of high school kids in front of the arcade store who blocked our way, I would've caught up to him. What the hell were those kids doing there in the middle of the day anyway, didn't they have class?"

Kari blanched at the mention her accomplice's name. TK wasn't referring to the same Willis... was he? "Who's Willis?" She asked cautiously, putting on the best poker face she could muster.

"An ex-boyfriend of Jun's," TK replied in a low voice and stole a nervous glance at Davis.

"I'll tell you who Willis is! He's a cheating, lying, good-for-nothing asshole who deserves to get punched in the face," Davis ranted through gritted teeth and took the other seat next to Kari. "He two-timed Jun the entire time that he was with her and after she found out about his infidelity, he even had the dignity to ditch her for one of his hoes. He dumped her without even the slightest shred of guilt or remorse, as if she didn't mean anything to him at all, like some disposable toy. I swear, if I ever see that blond prick again I'll make sure to wipe that smile off his pretty face with my fist."

Kari gulped. The mention of his hair color just confirmed her dreaded suspicion – definitely the same Willis. Other than Matt and TK, there really weren't that many natural blonds in Japan, let alone blonds with 'Willis' as their surname. A sudden wave of panic surged through her as she felt mouth went dry and her heart rate escalated. The old saying about living in a small world couldn't be more reflective of her thoughts.

"How did Jun find out that he was cheating on her?" TK asked.

"She checked his personal email one day and found that he had tons of love notes from at least a dozen different girls. Not just random confession emails, but all messages saying stuff like 'let's have another date', 'can't wait to see you again' and 'I miss you so bad'. When she confronted him about it, that's when he dumped her."

"That's awful… poor Jun," Kari empathized in spite of her efforts to remain calm. The revelation made her question whether Willis' services were as dependable as she believed them to be. Leaving personal passwords around was not only untactful, but downright stupid.

"Anyway, let's not talk about that bastard anymore. My mood shouldn't be spoiled by someone as unworthy as him," Davis spat and shifted in his seat. "He better prays that I won't run into him again because next time, he definitely won't be able to escape right through the crowd again."

"Yeah, better luck next time, Mr. Poirot," TK agreed.

"Who?" Davis squinted his eyes.

"Hercule Poirot, the detective from Agatha Christie's books," Kari explained. When she noted no changes on his blank expression, she elaborated, "You know, the detective with a thick moustache, created by the famous British author known as the Queen of Crime?"

Davis continued to stare at her in utter confusion as more gibberish poured out of her mouth. "Agenda who? And what crime? Why are we speaking in code language all of a sudden?"

"Unbelievable..." TK muttered and buried his face in his palm, shaking his head. He knew Davis wasn't the sharpest crayon in the box and had zero interest in classic literature, but they had _just_ studied Agatha Christie in their English elective class. "Seriously Davis, do you _ever_ read?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I do, I read all the time. Probably more than _you_ do anyway," the other boy snapped, pretending to be insulted by the accusation. He made a mental note to look up that Agenda person later.

"Porn magazines don't count, Davis," the blond pointed out.

Davis blushed scarlet while his two friends watched him with amusement. A little _too much_ amusement for his taste. He opened his mouth, closed it and opened it again. "I, what – don't porn...crazy!"

"What's that?" Kari asked deviously, deliberately taunting his incoherent stuttering.

"I'm offended, really, I am," Davis grunted and crossed his arms in indignation. "And for your information, I'm not as perverted as you think."

"Not _as_ perverted? So you admit that you're still a pervert to some degree?" TK snickered. "I bet you a million Yen that if I go into your room right now, I can find a stack of Playboys under your bed. Oh, and there's probably a few stashed in your bathroom as well, right under the sink."

The flush on Davis' face deepened as his wordless, moronic mouth movements from a few seconds ago returned. He eyes alternated between glaring holes through the blond's skull and stealing humiliated glances at the object of his affection, who had a hand over her mouth and was giggling away. He would need to redeem himself later.

"It's perfectly normal for a young man your age to have needs, Davis. Don't feel embarrassed," Kari patted his arm, biting down on her bottom lip in an effort to restrain herself from further humiliating him.

Davis fumed while TK struggled not to double over.

"Strike two, TJ," Davis barked and formed a peace sign with his left hand. He spitefully remembered the first offence being his mortifying karaoke song choice. "One more strike and you're a dead man!"

* * *

><p>Izzy banged his fists against the wooden door repeatedly, each knock louder than the previous. He tried reaching the blond through cell phone to no avail, despite the dozen of voicemails he had left.<p>

"Matt, I know you're in there, open the door!" He yelled over his knocking. "Come on already, did you die in there?"

After three more persistent bangs the door finally cracked open, revealing a drowsy blond. His usually perfectly coiffed hair was astray, sticking out in different directions. The Bearer of Friendship covered his mouth with his right hand in an attempt to stifle his yawn, then lifted his half-closed lids to focus on the shorter man who intruded his soundless sleep.

"Jesus Christ Izzy, do you know what time it is? It's friggin' three o'clock in the morning," Matt complained grumpily, squinting reflexively at the corridor's bright lighting. "You're lucky that my neighbors haven't called the police yet."

"I'm not sure what time zone you follow but it's only eight," Izzy lifted his long sleeve to show his wrist watch. "Nice try trying to get rid of me."

The blond brushed back some of his loose bangs. "... It was a long day at work, I probably fell asleep right after I got back."

"Hm, that explains why you didn't pick up any of my calls. Anyway, I came to see you because we have an emergency."

Matt raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "If your emergency is computer or technology-related again, like last time when you tried saving that weird virus from my computer, I'm going back to sleep. I refuse pulling another all-nighter again because of some stupid malware."

Izzy inwardly gasped. Weird? _Stupid_? It was mind-boggling how some people fail to appreciate the beauty and brilliance of viruses. He raised an index finger to explain, "For your information, that virus was one of a kind! I was hunting for it for ages to study the programming behind it so when you told me you caught it by accident, of course I had to save –"

"Goodnight Izzy," Matt didn't wait to hear the rest of the sentence before placing his hand back on the doorknob to shut it close.

"WAIT!" Izzy blocked the closing door with his forearm. "It's about Catherine, my source just sent me new info on her. And now that we're partners in crime, I want to share my findings with you."

At the mention of the French's name, Matt's interest instantly increased tenfold. "This better be good," he loosened his grip on the handle and let his friend walk in.

The pair took seats at opposite ends of the sofa. Izzy unzipped his messenger bag and handed the blond a stapled document. "I got these documents a few hours ago. Take a look at the highlighted parts."

"What's this? Evidence that she's a blacklisted fleeing suspect of a murder case or something?"

"If only it was that simple. If that's that case we would just report her to the cops and all of this mess would end right here, right now."

The hint of exhaustion in the hacker's voice did not go unnoticed. "…Then what did she do?"

"_She_ didn't do anything. Her father did," Izzy responded by cocking his head towards the folder. "See for yourself."

* * *

><p>"Finally, all set and done," Tai rejoiced as he pressed his laptop screen down. "I thought I was going insane just looking at all these different wedding cake designs and china patterns. Floral or geometric china? Limoges porcelain or earthenware? I can feel my masculinity dwindling with every passing minute."<p>

Sora sniggered and continued browsing on her own mini Vaio netbook in search of prospective French wedding venues. "Limoges? _Earthenware_? I'm surprised you even know those terms."

"I didn't thirty minutes ago," he admitted. "See what this is doing to me? That's exactly what I mean, it's absolutely embarrassing. I might as well start molding pottery while listening to Unchained Melody."

Sora stared at him wide-eyed, judging his reference to the movie that represented the epitome of femininity. Her lips slowly curved into a smirk, daring him to turn that mental image he had just conjured in her head into reality. "I'd give anything in the world to see _that_."

"Anything, huh? I'll keep that in mind Takenouchi," his expression mirrored her own, taking her up on her challenge.

"Pf whatever, as if you'll ever go anywhere near a potter's wheel. Knowing you, you'd rather join a yoga class than soil your pretty little hands in wet clay."

He grinned and raised a shaking index finger. "Never say never. If throwing clay would get you to do _anything_, I'm tempted to reconsider."

The redhead shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, I'm so glad we don't have to touch any of this stuff for the rest of the week because I swear, I'll shoot myself if I have to look at another brochure." Tai flung a pink pamphlet across the table and grimaced, as if he just touched something vile.

"I hate to disappoint you but we still have to book the rehearsal dinner venue and arrange transportation to go to France," she reminded him. Lifting the notepad next to the mouse, she began reading the list of tasks that remained outstanding on their to-do-list. "Not to mention we also have to follow-up on guests who didn't RSVP yet, pick a caterer, hire a photographer, choose a wedding cake and flower arrangement, schedule your photo shoot, book a hotel in France for the guests..."

"Are you serious?" He asked exasperatedly, flabbergasted by her endless laundry list. When she nodded, he dropped his arms on the table and buried his face in them, followed by a long moan of exasperation. "What a bunch of stupid traditions! The groom is not supposed to be stuck with all these boring tasks!"

'_That's what you get for marrying a useless, fame-digging pretty face,_' Sora thought to herself. If he was already complaining now, she wondered if he ever second guessed his decision to settle down. "So where is Sumiko anyway? Why isn't she helping you out?"

"She's out with a friend today, said she went to a café or something after work," came his muffled response underneath his mass of brown hair.

Sora couldn't comprehend how anyone in their normal of state of mind would willingly want to be in the presence of such an irritating human being, let alone befriending her. She also didn't understand how a supposedly feverish bride-to-be would want as little involvement as possible in planning the most important day of her life. But to prevent another rift to further detriment their already turbulent friendship as of lately, she decided to save the opinion to herself. "Oh," she answered instead.

"She should be back soon, she texted me earlier saying that she would be back around eight," he mumbled lazily without budging, still relishing the temporary serenity.

"Great, can't wait to see bridezilla again," she thought out loud without realizing. Upon hearing her own voice, she squeezed her eyes and cringed at her own mistake, horrified by the obvious hint of mockery in her tone.

So much for trying to act polite.

Tai raised his head from the table and looked at her. "You still don't like her, do you?"

"Who does?" She blurted out truthfully before she could stop herself. Damn it, what was wrong with her today? It was as if someone slipped her an honesty pill, causing her mouth to develop a separate mind of its own. "Wait, I didn't mean it like that, the words came out all wrong..."

Noticing the sudden pink blush of embarrassment on her cheeks, he lifted himself up from the table and offered a small smile. "It's ok, you're just being honest," he reasoned, his voice unexpectedly calm and void of displeasure.

If Tai was angry, his handsome features did nothing to betray his inner feelings. His tolerance of her less-than-friendly attitude towards his fiancée almost made her feel guilty. _Almost_. "That was really crass of me. I shouldn't have called her bridezilla."

He shook his head to dismiss her somewhat apology. "Don't be. I'll admit it, when I first met Sumiko, I didn't like her either."

Sora's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She always assumed that he fell in love with the model at first sight because despite her dislike for Catherine, she had to acknowledge that woman's unearthly good looks. "Really? What did she do?"

He shrugged. "Nothing, from the way she dressed I just assumed she was some rich, spoiled brat with a shallow personality."

"Right," she snorted, not buying a single word he said. "I'm sure that's exactly what you thought."

"Don't tell her that though."

The pair eventually recovered from the distraction and returned to their initial assignment. They both came to the conclusion that faster they try to wrap things up, the quicker they can rid themselves of these mundane responsibilities that neither were particularly fond of. With their new congruent mindsets, their productivity level reached its peak as the next forty-five minutes flew by.

"After picking a caterer we should call it a night," Sora proposed. She slumped back against the backrest of her chair and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "My brain is fried."

"Agreed."

Leaning against his palm, Tai flipped through a random catalogue, inspecting different wedding menus. Professional pictures of impeccably plated Kombu, Datemaki and sushi cakes filled the pages. They all looked equally scrumptious and at this point, he really didn't care which menu to pick anymore.

Half-lidded, his index finger went through the monotonous motion of turning the pages until a sudden flash of color caught his attention. He paused and simply stared at it.

A tray of assorted gourmet cookies.

For some reason, a distant memory suddenly resurfaced. He brushed over the picture longingly. "You know, you never gave me those cookies you promised."

The odd statement startled Sora and she blinked at him in confusion. "What cookies?"

"The ones you promised from Matt's concert," he answered quietly.

She frowned in puzzlement and gazed down at the page he stopped at. "Huh? Matt's concert? You mean back in high school when he was with the Teenage Wolves?"

"Yeah."

"I'm lost, what are you talking about?"

"Never mind, it's stupid. Just forget about what I said." He chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of his neck. A small part of him couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"No, tell me! When and why did I promise you cookies? ...Did we make a bet and I lost?"

"Just drop it, it was a long time ago. I don't know why I even brought it up."

He couldn't comprehend what came over him. What did he possibly hope to gain by mentioning a promise that was made years ago? Come to think of it, promise was a big word. Sora probably said it out of a guilty need to comfort him as it obviously bore no significant attachment to her. He couldn't honestly expect her to recall something that happened nearly a decade ago.

_Tell you what, I'll make some special ones for you._

He remembered that day clear as a picture. Every word uttered, every grin faked, every sense of betrayal felt. Every figment of that memory was imprinted in his mind and like a broken record, it refused to fade away. How could he forget?

It was the day he experienced his first real heartbreak.

They were both sixteen back then. It was Christmas and in spirit of the holidays that represented hope and joy, he foolishly believed that maybe that year, it was finally their year. Everybody always said it was a matter of time before they decide to take the leap, hence the possibility of being rejected never occurred to him. His confidence was further fueled by the hairpin incident. Her overreaction was clearly an indication that she liked him.

Or so he thought.

But he had obviously misread her intentions and so did every other person who misled him, for she ended up in the arms of his _other best friend_.

Thinking back, he was immature and irrational for believing in a fantasy that would never materialize. Like a mirage, no matter how close their friendship had gotten over the years, her heart had always been out of his reach.

He continued staring ruefully at the picture, completely unaware of the growing concern and confusion etched into Sora's face. It was unfortunate because he meant every word of it.

_I'll be waiting._

"Tai?"

Her soft hand had found its way to squeeze his anxiously. He slowly looked up into her sienna eyes. "I…"

The sound of the doorbell suddenly reverberated through the apartment. Tai reluctantly broke the contact and pushed his seat back. "I'll get it."

Maybe it wasn't meant to be.

* * *

><p>While waiting for the blond to finish reading the material, the prodigy fired up his laptop to resume a work-related assignment, which had been grossly neglected due to the unexpected distraction from Ares' supplementary findings. The hacker's latest discovery ended up hindering his concentration for… pretty much the entire work day. He sighed inwardly. If he didn't finish the report by the following morning, all hell would break lose again and causing another scene in the office was the last thing he wanted.<p>

After ten minutes of occasional paper rustling and steady typing, the prodigy felt a pair of cerulean eyes snapped up.

"So, what do you think?" Izzy initiated, eager to hear his friend's perspective. Knowing Matt's tendency of being finicky at times, perhaps he identified crucial details that he may have missed himself.

If Izzy thought their little detective work was thrilling, Matt most certainly did not share the same enthusiasm after skimming through the report. Having spent the last fifteen minutes reading about Vaillancourt past work experience, absolutely nothing unusual jumped to his attention, let alone information that would call for an urgent meeting. It wasn't like the man was a former spy who received a burn notice, or worked for the mob. But then again, Izzy's definition of "emergency" varied significantly from most normal people.

"So let me get this straight – you woke me up in the middle of the night just to tell me that Catherine's dad worked part-time at a not-for-profit organization?"

"First of all, it's not the 'middle of the night', it's only a quarter past eight," Immune to the other man's scowl, Izzy responded matter-of-factly and lifted his wrist watch once more. Matt was such a drama queen sometimes. "Second of all, it's not just some random organization. It's one that is giving us a major hint of her potential motive."

"…What could working for the France-Japan Research Institute possibly tell us?" Matt failed to see what could possibly be deciphered from this fact alone.

The corner of Izzy's mouth twitched up slightly. "Well, do you recall anyone else working for the same institute?"

"Come to think of it, the name of the entity does sound familiar. Hey, isn't that the place where Sora's dad does his researches…" He trailed off slowly. Putting the pieces together, enlightenment dawned on him. "…when he's not working at the university… Are you trying to say that there's a connection between those two?"

Izzy nodded. "There's a possibility, yes. Now, before you ask, I know the institute has over two hundred employees and a handful of regional offices scattered across France and Japan. Thus, the chances of those two knowing each other are slim under normal circumstances. But unfortunately for us, this whole situation has been anything but normal up until now. If you look at the paragraph I highlighted on page twenty-three, Vaillancourt was the manager of the IT branch in Paris."

The blond flipped to the page referenced. "Yeah, he was. And it says here that all IT operations are centralized at the headquarters in Paris."

"Of course, that doesn't mean that the regional offices don't have any IT staff at all," Izzy explained. "If my understanding is correct, this just means that when it comes to major operations like implementing a new system, the IT team in Paris would test it out first before allowing the rest of the regional offices to transition. With that being said, because Vaillantcourt's functions required him to communicate on a regular basis with the other branches, he and Mr. Takenouchi are probably acquainted."

Matt brushed a hand through his hand, trying to visualize Izzy's thought process. "So where does that lead us?"

"Good question," Izzy replied and reached into his bag. "There's actually one more document that I didn't show you yet. It's quite long, nearly a hundred pages, so I figured I should just brief you on it."

Matt lifted the stapled stack of paper and read the title out loud. "_France-Japan Research Institute, plaintif, vs. François Vaillancourt, defendant_. His court case? You should have given me this to read instead of that boring resumé! This is much more pertinent," he complained.

"Yeah well you didn't look awake enough to read a court case," the shorter boy mused.

The blond only huffed petulantly in response.

"So, back to our topic. After reading the court case, I realized that Ares made a mistake in his last report. Notice that the title doesn't read "PWSee vs. François Vaillancourt_"_, but rather "France-Japan Research Institute vs. François Vaillancourt". Anyway, that was probably just a small, insignificant typo. To summarize, this case basically says that Vaillancourt defrauded a hundred ninety-five thousand Euros from the institute. That translates to roughly twenty-five million Yen."

"Holy shit!" Matt gasped in shock. "He sure was greedy, wasn't he? He could've been more subtle and aim for smaller amounts."

"Ah, but see, this is where it gets interesting. Personal gain wasn't his motivation. He pleaded not guilty and claimed that he needed the money urgently to help out a friend in a desperate financial situation. He said his friend promised to return the money within a week's time, which of course, never happened. Vaillancourt vowed that he had no malicious intention of misappropriating the institute's funds."

Matt snorted derisively. "Yeah right… only naïve idiots would risk going to jail for their friends. Even morons wouldn't fall for a lie like that."

"That's ironic coming from the Bearer of the Crest of Friendship," Izzy remarked objectively.

"Oh, shut up. There are boundaries between friendship and stupidity," Matt refuted although taking no offense in the remark. "Who was that friend, assuming he wasn't imaginary?"

"Vaillancourt refused to disclose a name. Regardless of how hard the defending lawyer pressed, he insisted on being tight-lipped. With all evidence pointing to him and the absence of a witness testifying for him, it's not hard to predict the outcome of the trial."

"I don't know, his alibi sounds awfully unpersuasive. It's no wonder that the court ruled against him," Matt said. "Do you believe him?"

"I honestly don't know what to think anymore," Izzy confessed. "On one hand, there appears to be absolutely no evidence in favor of Vaillancourt's story. On the other hand, if he's innocent, this would explain a lot of Catherine's erratic behavior."

Both men thought of the same possibility of who that friend could be, but neither wanted to be the first one to actually say it.

Disheartened, Matt exhaled in exasperation before slumping to a state of hopelessness. "Despite having all this new information, we're officially back to square one - we still know nothing."

Izzy leaned his head back against the couch and pondered. What should they do now? "Maybe it's time to talk to Catherine, like we initially planned before getting this report," he proposed.

Matt remained silent and contemplated their complex situation. Izzy's suggestion was a bold move. Not only would they have to reveal that they were up to something, but considering Catherine's stealth, it was unlikely that they would succeed in extracting anything from her at all. There was no other way.

It was time to talk to Tai.

* * *

><p>(1) According to Tyra Banks on <em>America's Next Top Model<em>, 'smize' means 'smile with your eyes'.

So there it is, I hope the last part sheds some light on the whole mysterious thing. I figured maybe it's time to start explaining stuff instead of throwing more curve balls, haha. I hope it wasn't too boring or technical. Honestly I don't even know if it made sense. If I got some IT or legal terms/concepts wrong, someone please feel free to correct me. It's not my field of study so my knowledge is limited to _Law and Order_ and _Suits_ (and maybe occasionally _CSI_). And I swear I don't watch as much TV as I sound like!

Thanks again for reading!


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